Saying good-bye...

...to my car. It's been 9 years and 265,000 km. The time has come to replace our Honda Accord, yet surprisingly, I found myself saddened by the prospect. How can this be? I'm a woman - I am not supposed to develop an emotional attachment to a vehicle. It's generally men who become engaged in relationships with their cars, giving them names, spending hours "grooming" their vehicle's appearance. But in this instance, my spouse was eager to go car shopping while I continued to make futile arguments to lengthen our car's lifespan with an injection of cash and a new transmission.
Why am I so saddened to see this car go? Technically, it's not my car. It's under Wayne's name, and I have the big red minivan to call my own. But for the past several years it's been my commuting car. The car where I get two hours of peace and quiet every day, where no one is calling for "mommy", and where no is asking for another milk, or cracker, or demanding to have their bum wiped. It's where I have two hours to listen to the radio or be alone with my thoughts. But wait, that can't be why I'm feeling blue at the prospect of losing this car. After all, I'll still get my two hours of "me-time" with the new car.
No, the reason why I'm so sad to see this car go is because it's been with us for many momentous occasions in our life. We got the vehicle while I was still in law school so it made a few trips to Ottawa. It's been with us through 3 different moves. We've gone camping with it and driven it out to the East Coast for our delayed honeymoon road trip. As part of that trip, we spent a night or two sleeping in the car when we couldn't find accommodations. We brought home our first child in the same vehicle so it witnessed our many attempts at securing the car seat in the back. While Ceilidh came home from the hospital in the minivan, she did get to make the trip to Ottawa, without big brother Devlin, for a friend's wedding in the Honda. Aisling also had her solo trips, sans siblings in the Honda.
It's also been through some "traumatic" events in our life, including two collisions, exactly a year apart. The first incident involved being rear-ended by a drunk driver. I was seven months pregnant with Devlin at the time. While we were both declared fine after an harrowing ride to the hospital in an ambulance, the car was not. After a week at the body shop, it came back to us looking brand new. Then a year later, an older driver made a left turn in front of our oncoming vehicle at the last minute. The impact startled Devlin who started wailing, while we followed the driver who was attempting to flee the scene. Again, after a week at the body shop, we had our car back, looking shiny and new.
I think I also got my first and only speeding ticket while driving that car.
It's been a great car and I'm sad to part ways with this machine that's seen us through so much. But as each chapter ends, of course another one begins. So, I'm picking up my new car this weekend and going for a drive to get acquainted.