Bittersweet

Yesterday, we said good bye to our Saturn, the car I had taken to calling "the old jalopy."  At the age of seven (what is that in car years?), the car experienced a difficult spring.  As a consequence, so did we.   With nearly 100,000 miles on her meter, the time had come for us to part ways with the Saturn.

It's taken us through countless road trips, covering 15 states, with a little boy who needed a booster seat when I bought the car but who is now nearly taller than me (and no longer little).  We've gone to school in the fall, winter, and spring with bags full of books, homework, and projects galore.  It's been to the beach and camping and to its share of Halloween Trunk-or-Treats.  It's been to baseball games, soccer games, and running contests.  It's carried bikes, garden equipment, groceries, kittens who became cats, and all sorts of luggage.  We've sung hundreds of songs in this car.  It's made us laugh (what was the deal with that damned alarm?) and it's been there when life was very, very difficult.  Five years ago, there were many times when I cried as I drove this car and memories of better days flooded over me.  I hope that I've laughed just as often.  Before we said good bye, JT pretended to take it for a spin.

He's from New Jersey, so of course he rolled down the window and shouted at his imagined fellow drivers.

I'll post an update on the new ride (a VW Jetta SportWagen) tomorrow, with pictures.