The time has come to say farewell to our '96 red Volvo station wagon, or as I have always referred to her, The Sexy Beast. We bought her just before Bob was born. The odometer came stuck at 118,029 miles so I'm assuming the mileage is now well over 200,000. Every few weeks, we've been shelling out to the mechanic for something else that needs to be fixed. I have to lightly kick the front left fender into place every couple of days and the driver's seat is bare to the springs. And yet.
And yet.
Bob and I have traveled all over in this car. She carried Mr. Rosenberg's band on tour through the Pacific Northwest. She hauled three house moves and countless trips to Trader Joe's. She has been fit with every different kind of child's car seat. She has permanent hair, from much loved dogs, in the carpet that no vacuum has been able to remove. She has taken us to soccer fields, and baseball diamonds, and basketball courts. She looks empty without the neighborhood kids in the backseat. I drove hours in this car with a sleeping baby Bob since it was the only way I could get him to nap. We have history.
"But how will people know it's us?" Bob asked me, when I told him we were letting go of our distinctive set of wheels. "They might not, but having a working air conditioner that doesn't leak into the passenger side will be pretty cool."
The new (to us) car is a grey 2006 Toyota Prius. It gets 48 miles per gallon compared to the station wagon that averages 12 miles a gallon. Driving a car built in this century is a new thing for me. I sat in the Prius in the driveway yesterday and had to watch a Youtube video to learn how to start the car. It's all space-age and newfangled compared to the station wagon built back when the Macarena was new.
So, goodbye Sexy Beast.
Hello, Crunchy Jolene.
I call my red Prius "The Spaceship." Perhaps you can feel this way about your new car. Just dig it. Or try, at least, while you don't have to worry about whether you'll make it to soccer practice or not. Anthropomorphism is great. Up to a point and then reality kicks in. As will your new motor car's electronic engine.
ReplyDeleteIt's really fun and easy to drive, for sure. See you rocketing through the solar system! xoxo
DeleteHilarious... I recently traded the Jinxed Jeep {which I Hated and now have a permanent aversion to any Jeep Model}... for a new to me big Kahuna of a Truck again... I Love a big Truck and was so relieved to be commandeering one again! Funny our attachments to certain vehicles... some vehicle history I wanna remember fondly... and others I'd just as soon forget and erase from all memory! Blessings from the Arizona Desert... Dawn... The Bohemian
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dawn!! xo
DeleteI read the title and I went - Nooooo! - I have read so many tales about that red station wagon! I am gonna miss it too.
ReplyDeleteBut look forward to your journey with Crunchy Jolene! Congratulations. :)
Thank you, Diptee! xo
DeleteI love you and Sexy Beast and Crunch Jolene. She won't stay clean for long--no worries.
ReplyDeleteI know you're right! xo
DeleteCrunchY Jolene. Crunch Jolene is my nickname for her.
ReplyDeleteHaha! xo
DeleteI totally get it. I drive a 13-year-old Suburban with 217,000 miles on it that I totally love, faults an all. The remote key thing no longer works, and neither does the lock button on the driver side, so to lock and unlock it, I have to reach across to the passenger side. The gas gauge has never worked, so I have to reset the trip odometer every time I fill up. And it has never quite lost the smell from when a gallon of milk exploded in the trunk. We bought it when Elizabeth was born because I couldn't fit four kids and car seats in our old car. The Beast has proved to be indestructible so far, but I know the day is coming when that will no longer be true. Now that Ella is learning to drive, it may happen sooner than I had planned.
ReplyDeleteI feel you. xo
DeleteI rue the day I have to let go of either of my cars.
ReplyDeleteOne I have for purely sentimental reasons is over 20 years old.
The other is comfortable and ten years old.
I totally get it. xo
DeleteCrunchy Jolene is such a superb name. My black car is named Sweet Lime. I love this post and how our cars become inside us.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
Crunchy Jolene is such a superb name. My black car is named Sweet Lime. I love this post and how our cars become inside us.
ReplyDeleteRebecca
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