We all need to take a step back and remember to pursue ourselves from time to time. Whatever path we are on, we need to make sure we are doing it as the healthiest and happiest version of ourselves. Are our dreams aligned with the best version of ourselves? If not, we need to refocus our priorities.
If you don’t know what to pursue in life right now… pursue yourself. Pursue becoming the healthiest, Strongest, happiest, most healed, most confident, most present version of yourself. Then the right path will reveal itself to you.
Although we may feel lost and broken at times, remember there is a way. And even if we are broken, we are still beautiful, unique human beings. Let’s lift our heads and find our way out of the darkness.
A disco ball is hundreds of pieces of broken glass put together to make a magical ball of light. You are not broken. You are a DISCO BALL!
It’s almost Valentine’s Day. Remember we have one life to live so live it your way. Spend time with the friends and family who give you joy and don’t worry about the people who don’t enjoy you or like you. Let’s spread love this week and always.
I guess the real fact of the matter is, we don’t know what tomorrow is going to bring and the only thing we really have is right now. So, don’t stay angry for too long, and learn to forgive. Love your friends and family with all your heart. Have fun and live your life the way you want to live it. Most of all, don’t worry about people who don’t like you and enjoy the ones who do.
We need to do something every day that makes us smile. Step out in the sunshine, go for a drive in the country, or listen to your favorite song. Whatever it is, take a moment each day to do something for yourself that will make you smile. Then take that smile and share it with others.
Make someone smile every day, but never forget that you are someone too. While spreading happiness like sunshine, don’t forget to save a ray for yourself too!!
If you know me then you know I absolutely love an automobile made by Volkswagen from 2007-2016 called the EOS. EOS means Goddess of the Dawn, which is one of the many reasons I think the car is cool. The car is a hard-top convertible with a sunroof that also opens. Many people ask me why do you need a convertible AND a sunroof. Well, if you never had both, you wouldn’t understand. But I need both.
I remember back in 2007, I was at a teaching conference in northern Virginia. I was pulling out of the shopping center from the hotel, and I saw this cute little convertible. In my head, I was like what kind of car was that? It seemed fancy. I. thought maybe it was a Lexus or a Volvo, which would have been out of my price range. I looked closer and it was a VW. Hmm, I was intrigued. I knew it wasn’t a Cabriolet, so what WAS it?
I don’t quite remember the exact order of events, but I know I was home in Pennsylvania and my mom, dad, and I went to the mall which is about a 30-minute drive from our house. On the way back, I convinced them to stop at the Volkswagen dealership so we could check out this car.
We went into the showroom, and there it was. The top was down. It was so pretty. The salesman told me it was an EOS. They just started making them. He said would you like to see the sunroof? I said, “The sunroof???” Wait, what? Yes, please show me.
I couldn’t believe it! This was the car of my dreams! Every car I had owned since I was 16 had a sunroof. I loved having it open and the wind in my hair. At that time, I lived in Virginia, and I felt the weather was more conducive to a convertible, and this was the one I wanted.
This car, this EOS had BOTH options! A convertible and a sunroof! My dad just looked at me directing me with a roll of his eyes to calm down. He didn’t want the salesperson to think he had me already. There would be no negotiating. I needed that car.
For some reason, I wasn’t in a position to buy it at that time, but since I knew what the car was, I could make some moves. A few months later, I went back and signed the papers. Ellie Dawn EOS was mine all mine. She was black with black interior and a stick shift. I loved her.
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I had her for six or seven years and put about 140,000 miles on her. The roof leaked and there were some flaws, but it didn’t matter. Once I sold her I ended up with a white 2013 with black interior that I bought at CarMax with 5,000 miles on it in 2014. She also was very good to me and stayed parked at my mom’s place when I did my teaching stint in Thailand in 2015.
When I moved back to PA and started taking care of Gram, the car went with me. Sweet Gram and I had plenty of fun in Ellie EOS II. We put the top down and cruised the back woods of Pennsylvania exploring all the local ice cream stops. We took her up and down the coast from Fort Myers to Richmond and back. One unlucky 4th of July in 2017, we were on I-95 on our way back from RVA and traffic stopped but we didn’t and Ellie II was totaled. Thank God neither of us was hurt and the airbags didn’t deploy. I was so sad.
I was a realtor who was living in Pennsylvania taking care of Gram at the time. Therefore I decided it would be more practical to have more of an all-wheel drive vehicle with some room in it for the winter months and my job. I invested in a Honda CRV. It had a sunroof of course.
In 2018, Gram and I moved to Florida to be with my Prince. After being there a couple of years, I decided I needed another EOS. We had a Jeep, but I was done with the Honda. I wanted another EOS. It was 2020 and Covid was about the shut down the country. I found one in Naples and the salesman drove it to my house for me to test drive. My Valentine was out of town but a good friend from home was there to help me assess the flaws.
We decided it was right so My Rock bought it for me for my birthday. I was so excited to be back behind the wheel of the EOS. The top was down most of the time but it was always nice to have the option of the sunroof when there was a little chill in the air.
Then Hurricane Ian hit in September 2022. Four feet of water and muck took over the garage and my cute little car. Ellie III was white with tan interior and she was gone. I couldn’t believe it. But I was thankful that the garage and my car were the only things we lost. Many of our neighbors were not as lucky.
After 10 days of clean-up and dealing with insurance companies, we went back to Pennsylvania as we do in the summer. Our insurance company was good to us and the search was on for yet another EOS. If you don’t know, they quit making them in 2016 so at this point, any EOS was going to be at least six years old.
Before we returned in November, I found one. It was a beautiful blue 2014 with tan interior. We bought it sight kind of unseen as we had a friend in California who took it for a test drive for us. He said it was almost perfect except for the new radio and windshield wipers they needed to put on it. When we returned she was waiting in our garage. I was in awe of how perfect Ellie EOS IV really was. She only had 23,000 miles on her and seemed flawless.
I said I would not let her go. I said if a storm hit I would get a friend to come move her out of the garage if we weren’t here. I said I was going to have her forever. Well, in September 2024, Hurricane Helene went up the Gulf. It wasn’t even near Fort Myers. It didn’t even make landfall close to us. A friend came to the house that afternoon after the storm had passed. He reported that we had a few inches in the garage but nothing to worry about.
Well, in the middle of the night, that nothing to worry about turned into 28 inches of water in our garage. I am not sure if it was a storm surge or what but our street flooded again. After the water receded, our friend went over and became the bearer of the bad news. She was gone. Again. I couldn’t believe it. She was perfect.
We went to Florida for a few days to clean up the garage again, and I actually went to Naples to look at another EOS. Thank God I didn’t buy it because 10 days later Hurricane Milton hit and it would have been flooded as well.
I have spent the last four months searching. I wanted an EOS between the years 2010-2015 with a power passenger seat, navigation, Bluetooth, and a backup camera with less than 50,000 miles on it. They were few and far between. I was getting frustrated. Where was the perfect one? Therefore, I tried to convince myself to leave the EOS in the past. I test-drove a beautiful white hard-top BMW convertible but when we left I cried because it didn’t have a sunroof. I was hopeless. My sweet husband put up with my mixed emotions and let me struggle through this journey of finding a new car.
I knew if I wanted a nice car I needed to let EOS go. I also kind of wanted a standard but they quit making them in the EOS in 2012. I was torn. Do I go older and get a stick in the EOS or do I move on and try a different make? I literally test-drove every convertible I could think of…Porsche, BMW, Infiniti, Lexus, and Audi. I didn’t want a soft-top but they quit making the hard-top convertible a few years ago. I tried so hard to move on, but I wasn’t in love with any of them.
Then it happened. A few weeks ago, a black EOS with black interior was in Fort Myers. My Heart and I looked at it, but it still wasn’t right. We found a white one in Miami so we started heading over to check it out. Halfway across Alligator Alley, we stopped, and I said, “Let’s turn around. The headliner is messed up and it’s not worth the two-hour drive.” I said, “Let’s stop at Ford. Maybe I should try the Bronco. Let’s check it out.”
Therefore, we stopped at Ford. We looked at the Broncos but it wasn’t what I wanted. The top wasn’t automatic and it would be a pain in the butt to wash. Back in his truck, we went. As we were pulling out, I spotted her! A blue EOS parked right there. I couldn’t believe it. How did we miss it on the way in? We stopped, and I hopped out of the truck. I looked in the window and it was a stick! The interior was gray. I couldn’t believe it. I was ready to run into the dealership and ask whose car it was. But then I saw a piece of paper. There was a note on the windshield. The note said the clutch was stuck to the ground and that the owner’s dad had bought a truck there and to call if there was a problem.
I was so excited. I knew it was an older model because of the front. I wasn’t super thrilled with that but it was the right color, the exterior was in good condition, the tires were new, and it was a stick! I called and left a message. The next day I didn’t hear anything. I texted the number and asked if they would be interested in selling. He said, yes! A few days later, we went to get a closer look. It was a 2007 and had 93,000 miles on it. I was hoping for a small miracle that it was a 2010 with 50,000 miles on it, but the price was right, and I was tired of looking.
The next day I had the car towed to a mechanic. Clearly, the clutch needed fixed as well as a few other things. Two days later, I picked her up! Ellie EOS V was mine all mine! I was so excited! I drove her like a race car driver all the way home (because that’s what you do when you drive a stick:))
She is a bit more mature (I don’t want to say older) than the last three I have had. Honestly, it took me a minute to get used to going back in time to 2007, but I believe it was meant to be in the way we found her, and I have faith she is going to be good to me. And I love driving a stick! Thank you, Cousin Pat for teaching me way back when.
I imagine after reading this you think I am a little crazy and as my best friend said I do have some weird obsession with the Volkswagen EOS. I can’t help it, and I don’t know what I will do when I have to move on. Until then I am going to enjoy this little ride for as long as I can!
