Well, the time has come to say goodbye to an old friend. On Thursday night I drove my old car for the last time. It was the first car the I ever bought, and with the exception of Adrienne's car that I married into, it is the only car that I have ever owned. It has never been the prettiest or nicest car. In fact, we were thinking that at one point last year it was about the twentieth most valuable item in our garage, behind the other car, several rafts, and some old building supplies. It has always been a good car for me though. After 11 years of ownership I have started to be identified with my car, which is not necessarily the best thing when you drive a 17 year old Cavalier.
While driving for the last time on Thursday I started to wax a bit nostalgic. I began to think of all the things that have happened since I purchased that car. When I bought it I was a young kid fresh of my mission. Since then I have lived in seven different places, and had been at five different jobs. During that time I earned both a bachelors and a Masters degree. When I purchased the car the majority of my dating experience included going to girls choice dances. Now I am married and have two children. I put ninety thousand miles on that car which translates to something like 125 days behind the wheel.
There have been a lot of good times in the car. Spring break road trips come to mind. There have also been some not so fun things. The time the starter went out in the driveway of an old girlfriend's house right after I broke up with her. Yeah that was a lovely experience. I think that for probably the last seven years I had always thought that I would just drive my car for another couple of years and then buy a new one. The couple of years always seemed to be pushed out another couple of years into the future. The Cav would always keep plugging along. I am definitely happy to be moving to a nicer car but I am just a little sad to see the Cav go.
5 comments:
How sad! Looks like Lauren is happy with her "new" friend, though! I really had to laugh about your break-up story. What an experience! How did you end up getting home? Did you ask her for a ride? :)
Oh Jeff! The cord has been severed! How bitter-sweet. Hopefully Lauren treats "your" car decent and there are many more years and happy memories to come for the new owners.
My car is 13 years old and I truly will miss it when it's gone. Glad to see you guys are doing great!
Jan Mecham Southwick
It is sad to see the Cav go. At least it is still the family so you can go and visit it any time you want. Hope the tears end soon. You looked a little sad watching it drive down the road. Savor the memories!
Truth be known the reason that I look sad in the photo is because Adrienne told me to look sad. I think that really it is a cross between a sad look and a "I just ate something I should'nt have" look.
As for the ride home it was indeed with the girl I broke up with. The real treat was when my dad helped me tow the car the next day and our families got to meet. It was only a wee bit akward.
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