Is It Just Me?

These are our cars. Steve has a Prius, I have a 4Runner. I love my car, but most of the time I end up driving Steve’s car. Steve used to have a Celica, which I never drove, but now that his car is more environmentally friendly than mine I find that I drive his car more often than I drive my own.

The Prius has what is known as a “smart key” which means the car just knows when the key is near and the doors will unlock. The car will start if the key is merely in the car, no need for inserting or turning. My car does not have a smart key. You actually have to press a button to unlock the doors and put the key in the ignition. It’s primitive, I know. It can be quite schizophrenic going back and forth between the two cars. The other day the kids and I were in my car and they couldn’t figure out why it was taking so long to get going. It was because I was trying to start my car without putting a key in the ignition. I often forget which car I’m driving and end up wandering aimlessly around parking lots. (This only happens when I’m by myself; the kids always know what car we drove and where we parked. I love that about them.) Once I came out of a store laden with heavy packages and stood next to a silver Prius. I waited for the doors to unlock but they didn’t. I realized it wasn’t my car, so I found another silver Prius and stood next to it. Nope, not my car either. After the third silver Prius it dawned on me that I hadn’t even driven the Prius, I had driven my car. I learned a valuable lesson that day, there are too many silver Prius' in the world. Or at least in Northern California.