Goodbye Old Friend...

This week I said goodbye to a reliable, old friend - one who has been with me for about 8 years. My beloved Expedition was getting near her end... the transmission wasn't responding as it should, her brakes were squeaky and needed to be replaced, she costed more than $100 to fill up (even with the dropping gas prices) and the work needed to keep her running exceeded her net worth. I'd seen it coming for a few months, and kept nursing her along, not quite ready to let go.

I have to admit that I teared up a bit when the dealer drove her away. When I got home with my new car, tears till in my eyes, and confided this to my sister, she told me I'm nuts for feeling so glum about, of all things, a vehicle. But I loved that truck. It had been a huge part of my life these past eight years.

That truck had taken me safely, loaded with friends and/or family, on road trips all over the country - from Chicago to Pensacola, Myrtle Beach to Philadelphia, Atlanta to Iowa. We went tailgating, to weddings and funerals, bowl games and vacations. Both of my babies came home from the hospital, cradled in the center of that metal giant. Just two months ago she went half-way across the country, on a trip to New Orleans for business. She was a great truck.

I'm really going to miss my leather seats, 6 disc CD, pimped out speakers, and ample cargo space. I know, I know. All excesses I never needed. But all the more apparent when I dropped to a consumer-friendly crossover without a single bell or whistle.

I do realize this is something I should talk to my shrink about. I realize it's much deeper - that it's symbolic of all the things I'm losing and changing in my personal life right now. Stuff I'm not ready to talk about here, in cyberspace. All the same, that vehicle held a little bit of my heart. And held a huge number of happy memories. Over 150,000 miles of them.

Farewell, old friend - you've served me well!