Am I in the right car?

A short and sweet post today!  We've all had that moment where the world suddenly stops.  It happened to me again just 2 days ago.  Every few years there has been a car that sold to the masses and I've owned a few of them.  In my 20's it was a VW bug.  When we had kids it was the blue mini-van you saw everywhere.  Now it's a 2005 bright blue Yaris. Being one in many causes moments of confusion that stop you in your tracks.

With the blue mini-van, the kids and I were always trolling the parking lot trying to find the right one.  We even put a stupid ball on the antenna, but it  kept getting stolen.  My daughter remembers standing at one van looking in trying to decide if it was ours while another person was at our van staring in for the same reason.  Our eyes met over the vans and we both had to smile as we changed places.

Another car we owned, now in my daughter's possession, wasn't as common and sported a weird brick red colour.  One of the first times I drove it, I came out of the store to find two identical cars parked side by side on the street. I couldn't have been more shocked.  I had never seen this model in this colour before and yet there they were - twins. I hadn't learnt the license plate number yet so had to try using the keys to get in and hoped they only opened one.  Much to my embarrassment, the owner of the other car came out while I was in the process, but we both had a good laugh.

I always wanted a 2005 Yaris in bright blue and was delighted when I was able to buy one a few years ago.  My theory has always been - if you're going to drive a really small car it should be in a bright colour to help larger vehicles see you.  This fit the bill perfectly.  With the back seats down and hatchback access, I can also really load it up and move things.  I love this car.  There are still quite a few on the road, but it didn't seem too many until 2 days ago.  I popped into the bank, walked out deep in thought and jumped into a bright blue Yaris. Then I looked to the right and noticed there was an exact duplicate sitting next to me.  The world stopped as I panicked.  WAS I IN THE RIGHT CAR?  Fortunately the answer was yes, but how I missed the fact there were two of the exact same year and colour there is beyond me.

I love this image, but mine is actually bigger and a 4-door.

The next car I purchase is going to have the automatic door opener and alarm.  It's the best way to find a vehicle I know.  If you forget where you parked you can just walk around the parking lot following the beep.  Until then, I'm just going to have to pay a little more attention to where I park and make sure I always have something personal inside in plain few for moments like those above.