It was parked right outside my house. About a year ago, my friendly neighborhood thieves stole the leather seats out of it – and replaced them with upholstery. I mean, can you get any more thoughtful than that? But this time, they took the whole car. A 1997 Honda Civic with a full tank of gas.

The reality is that that car has been making monthly trips to the mechanic lately. It started out the new year there with an extended visit, so I’ve had a recent taste of being carless in Chicago: waiting for buses, packing nice shoes to change into, reducing my activities, and shopping closer to home. (And being just as late as usual to all my destinations.) At times it was incredibly frustrating, and at others I enjoyed the pace.

I don’t know exactly what inspired me, but I’d run the numbers recently. I figured out that I spend $223 each month to gas up, repair, insure (and tow) my car. Compare that to a $75 monthly CTA pass and a few cab rides and I-Go car shares, and I could save a good chunk of change each year. Not to mention, reduce my environmental footprint.

So here I am wondering what I do next. My friend Ben suggested, “Maybe this is a gift? An opportunity to go carless?”

I know the world would be a lot better off if more of us got out of the driver’s seat and into trains, buses, and bike saddles. But it’s not easy to imagine life without a car, even in Chicago. I like to see my friends in far-flung Rogers Park, buy my groceries at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s (yes, I see the irony of driving a car to get my environmentally-friendly broccoli), race to yoga class in the nick of time.

But I look around and see how many of my friends (and pastors) have managed active lives without a car. They’re role models.

So I’m toying with the idea of an early Lenten fast. Forty days and forty nights without a car. I’m still in too much shock to make that commitment just yet, but the possibility does strike me as strangely liberating. What I felt today more than anything was that I’d been unburdened.

I’ll keep you posted. And in the meanwhile, let me know if you spot a green Honda Civic with a moose decal in the back window. The new owners have a real humdinger on their hands.