Smudger Snippets
Created | Updated Jun 21, 2005
Novelty Values
During our lives there are many changes, some really good and others not so. We go through many emotions during these times, which are never the same no matter how many times they happen. These events can be little things like having your hair done or changing your car to moving house. To which I believe moving house to be the most traumatic event of them all, where as changing cars can give you a real boost in your moral and general feeling well being. Today for example, my wife and I went to look at cars, as our present agreement with the mobility scheme is due to expire soon. For those of you who do not know what I am talking about I will give a brief description. If a person is disabled enough to qualify for the scheme, they hand over their mobility book which is given by the government to help disabled people to get around and be more mobile.
This book can be handed over to any car dealer who is registered with the scheme, and in return gives the person a brand new car, which is exchanged for another new one after a period of three years, it is basically a lease contract.
So there we were in this car showroom looking at various models, one in particular caught our eye and we were sizing up the rear door area to see if we could fit my wifes electric scooter inside it. The salesman arrived, as they do after a few minutes, and informed us that there was a deposit to be paid on that five seat model. Then he turned and looked at the car next to it which was larger and in fact could seat seven people, this one for example he said has no deposit, this really surprised us, as we had seen it when we first arrived, but thought it would be way above our range.
So after a few minutes of being shown everything that car had to offer, and this was indeed a lot more than we expected, we found ourselves signing the paperwork for that car, which we would be picking up form the showroom in two months time.
As we drove home we were both feeling really good as my wife read all the details from the brochure that we were given prior to leaving.
The whole experience lifted our spirits, which I must admit had been low for the past few weeks. It means we have something to look forward to now, a target, an event that is going to make a huge difference to us. The last time we had this feeling was when we had our new shower fitted some months ago. This was fitted free for us due to us both being disabled, and indeed makes a huge difference to our lives as regards to bathing. We had been on the waiting list for it to be installed for over two years, so you can imagine just how happy we were to see it completed. In fact it looked so good after it was finished, we used to go and look at it every now and then, just to make sure it was really there. Yet after a few weeks, we became so accustomed to it, that we have actually forgotten what our old bathroom was like.
This is also true when it comes to cars, we get all excited when we first get them, and they are indeed a great novelty value. Yet after you have driven it for a few weeks and have got used to it, the novelty wears off, and the thought of all those further payments that seemed so small at the time in the showroom, soon come back to haunt you.
It is not long after that when you start to compare your car to the newer models coming out, which makes yours look dated, then the pleasure it once gave you, has gone.
It is a sad fact but we do tend to take things for granted over a period of time, and I must admit to doing this with our recently installed shower. So when I find myself doing that, I just remember how difficult it was before to bathe in the old bath, which was very hard to get in and out of, for the both of us. This habit we seem to have of taking things for granted after a period of time tends to spread into the relationships we have with our partners. This must never be allowed to happen, as it can be very expensive, not only financially but emotionally as well.
Divorce is not a pleasant experience for anyone to go through, and when you think of it taking your partner for granted is the first stage towards it! So the next time you are polishing your latest pride and joy, whether it is a car, or a set of new golf clubs, just keep that thought in your mind. Try and remember back to those days, when your heart used to miss a beat when you saw her, and how you used to take her out for meals and buy her flowers and the like. To allow novelty value to wear off with a relationship can be a very dangerous step to take.
Just thought I would finish this story off with a verse for a poem I wrote many years ago.
Old worn letters, tell of our history
Of our early days, so full of mystery
These are the memories, so desperately sought
As once they’ve been lived, they are never forgot.
