Hesitation is the Hallmark of Mediocrity

Nick showed me a picture of a beautiful car on his phone.

“Hesitation is the hallmark of mediocrity,” I said, mostly in jest.

(I looked up where I found this quote and realized I’d paraphrased something Elizabeth Benton had written in her book, Chasing Cupcakes. She’d actually said it was the ‘cornerstone of mediocrity’)

We had been talking about buying a car for months. Currently, we have his pickup truck and my Honda Element (aka ‘dog car’). Both are getting up there in mileage, and both are beloved. He uses the truck daily to take care of our little ‘farm’ and also our two rental properties. It’s finally paid off, so now our hope is that it will go for another 100K miles for ‘free.’

Honda stopped making the Honda Element in about 2012, so replacing mine (my second) would be very difficult (we found that out when we bought it). I use it for transporting dogs all over the place, and while I do literally hose it out on occasion (that’s the coolest aspect of Elements), it retains the aroma of dog. It also only has three seats because I removed one and replaced it with a dog bed. The other seat could technically be reinstalled, but it’s been in the barn so long I doubt we’d want to.

The reason for buying a third car was to get a ‘real car’ that seats more than two people (and dogs). Also, to have a nice car for traveling or going out (without dogs).

Once upon a time, I had a convertible. And not just any convertible, but a 2004 Z4 BMW convertible limited edition Merlot colored. I loved that car. I wrote about it here.

When we moved to VA and downsized, I sold my convertible. I had nowhere to store it (it had never spent a night outside in its life), and we needed the money for the move. Nick sold his ‘dad car’ and bought the truck.

We spent the winter and spring talking about a car, looking online at a few, but ultimately deciding that we didn’t really need it.

We are celebrating our 30^th anniversary this year, and having spent our 25^th sequestered during COVID, we planned to do something big. Nick floated the idea of going to Europe. I couldn’t imagine leaving the dogs that long, plus I’m basically a homebody. I like where I live and only leave when I must.

Then he struck on a brilliant idea. What if we instead drove the entire Skyline Drive and Blue Ridge Parkway? Ten days in the mountains. My kind of trip.

But then he said, “What if instead of spending the money we would spend on a trip to Europe, we bought a convertible and drove that?”

There’s a reason I love this man.

Ever since coming up with this brilliant plan, we have waffled. We looked online at some used convertibles, even Z4s, but couldn’t make up our minds. Practicality rules. In Virginia, we pay personal property tax on every vehicle. Plus, insuring a nice car isn’t cheap. Maybe we should just rent a convertible for the trip?

That’s where our heads were, until earlier this week. Nick sent me a few links to convertibles. I didn’t love any of them, and none were nearby. I don’t know about you, but I hate the buying the car part. The salesman, the office that smells like cigarettes, the paperwork, the waiting. All of it is miserable.

On a whim, I looked on Carvana. I know, I know. Do people really buy cars on Carvana and have them delivered, sight unseen? Well….

I found a beautiful 2014 Audi A5 convertible in a gorgeous gold color with leather interior and only 60K miles. I sent the link to Nick.

He was skeptical. Audi?

I thought that was the end of it, until Wednesday morning when he messaged me that, actually, according to his research, the 2014 model was a good deal and reliable.

So, that night, while sitting on the couch trying to wrestle Fanny into letting me use my redlight on her sore shoulder, he pulled up the car on his phone.

That’s when I reminded him, “Hesitation is the hallmark of mediocrity.”

He raised his eyebrows at me and then took his phone and went upstairs.

Five minutes later, he sat down on the couch again and said, “When would you like it delivered, Saturday or Sunday?”

I’m not sure my husband has ever done something so impulsive.

“Did we seriously just buy a car on your phone?”

Yes. Yes, we did.

While I awaited the delivery of my car on Saturday, I tought about that quote.

Is hesitation the hallmark of mediocrity?

Sure, it is on Jeopardy, but in life?

There is a difference between careful planning and an impulse buy.

I do believe sometimes we spend too much time gathering facts and figures, learning more, asking questions, and never actually do anything.

As I get older and approach a milestone birthday next year, I hesitate less.

Is that from wisdom or a sense of running out of time?

Maybe both.

How about you? Do you think hesitation is the hallmark of mediocrity?

(And, by the way, the Carvana experience was magical and the new car is perfect! Skyline Drive, here we come.)

Hey, thanks for reading. I know you’ve got lots of options, so thanks for sharing a few of your minutes with me.

Honored,

Cara

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