The Vintage Limo Monologues #7: On Being Dangerous

I went to a birthday party last week and a boy told me there in a secretive whisper "My mom won't let me ride in a limo until I am 13". Sofi invited 10 girls to her birthday party and one cannot come because her mom (told the girl, not me) that riding in a limo is not good for her!

I find it amazing the number of things parents can find to be worried about. The last thing in the world I imagined was that my limo would be one of them. So, now I imagine there is this little clan of women going around whispering about how much damage I am doing to my children by letting them ride in a limo.

Ah! If only I could answer them I would tell them - It is people who think like YOU that were part of the reason I purchased it in the first place. If you scroll down to one of the first entries you can see that one reason I offer free rides is that I think one thing we all don't get enough of in this society is people telling us we are "good enough" or we "deserve something special". When was the last time someone said that to YOU?

Children mostly hear, "That food is not healthy, that game is not healthy, that activity is not good for you, don't be greedy, don't this and don't that." and we grow up thinking it is wrong to ask for anything and that we don't deserve anything. I have struggled with this my entire life. To this day I find it hard to charge people even when I am doing WORK for them!

As adults we rarely hear about how special we are and how we deserve the best. There is a lot of emphasis on serving our kids and our spouses and giving equal time to things and volunteering and the church or school. But there is nobody out there telling us - "take care of yourself and you deserve a treat".

This was of thinking in life has fostered an entire group of people who feel inadequete, are scared to ask for the things they need and are unable to earn enough money because deep down they think they don't deserve that much or they think "rich people are greedy and I don't want to be them".

So what can you learn by riding in a limo as a child? A lot!

1. You deserve the best - no matter what kind of day you had and no matter who you are you can ride in a luxury car and have someone open the door for you.

2. Luxury and Superiority are an illusion. There is a lot of show in life. Someone needs to own a certain car or wear certain clothes. Having a limo as a single mom on a budget is like my own private joke. It is laughing at the stereo types. It is saying "hey - having the right clothes and the right car does not MAKE you who you are. You ARE who you ARE no matter what car you drive or clothes you wear". I am a single mom on a budget who eats granola with plain yoghurt every morning and loves alternative schooling and natural healing. So...see? The limo didn't make me who I am. It is almost a joke that I drive one!

3. When you have something nice like a nice car or nice clothes, or nice house you should SHARE! A lot of nice cars are only driven by one person, a lot of nice houses with 16 rooms are lived in by a couple with one child. So we have a nice limo and we drive all our friends around in it, I volunteer for birthday parties, I offer people rides, I donate rides. I love sharing. If more people who had nice things would share then what a different world it would be! So how about it? Can I come over and watch a show on your BIG SCREEN TV? Or bring my kids over to swim in the backyard pool?

4. It teaches you to be brave enough to do something different for your own reasons. The kids all know the reasons I have the limo (1-3 above and more) and they see that I am not "doing like everyone else". I hope this inspires them in their own lives some day.

5. It teaches you a sense of humor. How silly is this anyway? To go through a car wash or a drive through in a limo? To get dropped off at school in a limo? To park a limo in your driveway??? It brings out an appreciation for the absurd in life!

And much more...but those are it for now. I have work to do!

Blessings & Health,
Kristie
www.thedreamangels.com