Friday, February 02, 2007

Time To Say Goodbye

Monday, as I was driving the kids home from school a teenager in a souped up jeep took a wide turn into our lane and hit us head on. We weren't hurt, the kids were a little scared. I felt bad for the kid driving, he was really freaked out. I've been a bad teenage driver in accidents, I knew how he felt. Today they officially reported our car "totaled" and even though we hoped for that, I'm a little sad. It's been a good car. It's a tank and takes a lot of beating, it's old so I don't care if the kids muck it up and it fits 7 people. It looks like we'll have to consider a minivan, but I'm not sure I'm ready to buy the kind of minivan we can afford (think 1984 Plymouth Voyager). I think I've been thinking about it a little to philosophically, I mean what's in a car? How much do I identify with what I drive? How much does this define me? The kids are loving our rental Ford Taurus, "The seats are so soft and it smells like a motel!" I keep thinking about the joke I heard on Saturday Night Live, "Ford has discontinued the Taurus which means 30-somethings will have to find another way to tell the world, 'I'm giving up.'" I was comfortable being a Montero driver. 180,000 miles and all, I wish they could've fixed it.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

180K is quite an accomplishment. I hope you find a good car and I'm so glad you guys weren't hurt. Very scary.

Jenni said...

so sad about your car, it was a great ride, my kids LOVED riding in it for sure and wow 180,000 miles is amazing, you should get another one of those with a track record like that, glad you are all o.k.

Anonymous said...

How can you, a Kelly, say that your car doesn't define you? that it's not emotional and all that? Surely you know better! It was a good car--it had so much room but didn't look like a tank. I hope you can find something you will like. Perhaps you can think of it as temporary. Good luck! Love, Mom

Anonymous said...

"Don't love anything that can't love you back." I was given this bit of wisdom recently and it has helped me say goodbye to cars, clothes, furniture and even a house without much emotion.

I'm glad it was a good car. Hopefully you can get a great replacement.

FYI: the land of minivans is not as horrible as you think. But avoid it until you can embrace it. Call me, I'll tell you all the reasons it is O.K.

Liz Stanley said...

so sad about your car! i guess with a new baby a minivan might not be a bad idea. i love that quote about the taurus. so funny and so true.

Anonymous said...

I have loved our minivans but we will have a couple of drivers here soon. With two less passengers I am eyeing 4-door sudans again.

Carrie said...

So sad about the Montero. When we sold our Montero for the minivan, I was pretty excited. Now that I have a minivan, I realize I'm not a minivan person (although I love that the kids, mainly Ian & Eliza, don't have to sit next to each other). We're looking for the perfect (for us) 6 seat alternative. Good Luck!