All Those Miles We Shared

 I’m not overly sentimental.

I didn’t save piles of my girls’ baby clothes nor do I feel compelled to keep every piece of art they create.

But when it comes to cars, what sentimental feelings I have seem to surface.

We’ve been looking for a “new-to-us” car for several months.  We found one on Friday and traded in the gold 2004 Camry I’ve been driving for the past eight years.

It was a good car.  My definition of a good car is pretty simple – it’s one that’s never left me stranded on the side of the road.

That car saw many good times.  It took our oldest to her first day of kindergarten and transported some of our household goods as we moved from Raleigh, NC, back to Charleston, SC.  It carried us through many long road trips…Disney World, New York City, Washington D.C., and a memorable through-the-night trip from my father-in-law’s funeral in Georgia to my parents’ 50th anniversary celebration in Virginia.

Assuming we keep this new car for eight years, which is very likely, we will use it to take both of our girls to college.  I can’t even grasp that.

I’m enjoying driving this new car and looking forward to the memories we will make with it.  But a little piece of me is tucked away in the 207,693 miles showing on the odometer in that reliable gold Camry.

Are you sentimental about getting rid of the family car?