Week 5: Volkswagen Golf V GTI

This past Saturday was my wedding anniversary, and my wife and I celebrated by going to a wedding.

No sarcasm --I looked forward to this wedding -- two exceptionally matched people each solid enough with their own selves to let the other person be who he/she is. I had none of the oh boy, I'm not so sure about this hope it works out guilty trepidation I've had at past weddings, and, if you've been to more than a few, you have also had, even if you've never admitted you did.

Going to a wedding, with its significance of a new beginning, is a reflection on time passing when done on one's own anniversary, after the cardboard pine tree of romance dangling  from life's rearview mirror has lost some of its odor-blocking power. Let's be honest - life can be stinky at times, and we all like fresh scents. Inevitably you are brought back to the beginning of the union of you and your spouse and you begin reflecting on how those vows are holding up.

In fact, sitting in the wedding hall, I had a type of Scrooge moment, being visited by ghosts of Anniversaries past and present and sensing that spooky ghost of the future all pumped up and ready to jack me up with its bony hand, pointing out my flaws and where they would get me. Go away, bony, finger-pointing ghost. You are all about decay, but fresh is fun, and you, my friend, are not fresh.

Which brings me to the this week's Matchbox selection - a Volkswagen Golf. I searched for the most unexciting Matchbox or Hot Wheels car I could find, not an easy thing to do. This commuter ride was the best I could score (truth be told, I really like this car both as a Matchbox and as a real car, and I don't find it boring, but compared to a Ferrari or Lamborghini....).

To make it more domestic I came up with placing the car on a cutting board for the picture. The photographer, Andy, added the subtle touch of the greasy spatula. He's an artist.

The point here is that to a kid, and also to a certain dad/husband who buys himself a Matchbox or Hot Wheels car each week, there is no bad car. Every individual car is exciting, even garbage trucks or family sedans. As a metaphor for marriage, the Matchbox idea here doesn't work, but as a reminder for marriage, it does.

How? Make every moment fresh -- think about yourself as a kid with a new Matchbox or Hot Wheels -- all thrills, all play. Must every car be a sports car? No way. They all become part of your collection, and every one has its own charm.

Because with marriage, you are collecting moments for the long-haul, and not every one is going to be a Chevelle SS, but they are all cherished parts of the collection, and some might even be worth something some day. They are all good.

Maybe the symbol of a Matchbox doesn't work for you, so find one that does, but I encourage you to all try to remember the freshness and kid-like joy of a new toy when building your collection of moments with you spouses, children and friends.

For me, I'm going to think about this little green Matchbox as my own personal reminder of keeping it fresh.

Happy Anniversary, Rochelle, and congratulations Erin and Pat.



And be glad I didn't attempt one of my usual word plays with Match and Box, because I'm sure that wouldn't have ended well.



Matchbox Volkswagen Golf  V GTI is number 28 of 100 of the 2010 collection and is 4 of 6 of the Metro Rides offerings.

Photo of my Matchbox courtesy of Andy Bindernagel. Cutting board, greasy spatula and knife courtesy of Kerry.