A New View

When I was seven I got glasses. It was a life changing experience for me as the world opened up right in front of me. My first impression was, "wow, I can see the leaves on the trees." They had been green blobs before. Now they were crystal clear and precise. My parents never had to remind me to wear my glasses. I wanted to.

Yesterday, I took my Pilot into the dealership for an oil change and to check on a couple of items. I thought they were simple fixes...it turns out only one of them was. My rear wiper hasn't been working for a few months. Since I wasn't raised with vehicles that had rear wipers, I didn't think it was a big deal not to have one. But I did notice things were a bit hazy checking my rear view mirror. We've had a lot of rain, spray, snow, slush, etc. on the roads this winter and it gets so discouraging to wash the car only to drive it once and the dirt mounds up again. So, most often I just live with the dirt. For a month at a time. Or two. Sometimes three.

When a not-so-easy, pull out the seats and dash problem made it impossible to take my car home, the dealer gave me a rental car until they could isolate the problem and then fix it. My first impression driving a new car? I could see clearly out that back window. Like going from an impressionistic painting to a sharp photographic image clear. A whole new traffic scene emerged and I was vividly reminded of my childhood experience getting glasses.

I'm going back to the dealer this afternoon to get my car back. Tightening one bolt fixed the wiper. So simple. And I have a renewed sense of importance for keeping that back window clean.