She’s Been Good to Me!

She’s been there for me for more than 18 years, although she left me for a while in the middle. I forgot how much I liked her until she came back to me. Now I don’t know what I would do without her. We fit. We share common strengths: we are both frugal, both minimalists, and both starting to show our age.

I remember the first time we were together; I just knew that even though I was newly married, she was going to be part of my life. My then father-in-law was furious when he found out about her, and I can’t blame him. He just couldn’t understand. He was worried for his daughter, and I don’t blame him for that, but I just couldn’t resist her! Things got tough more than once, and she and I would go off together just the two of us and work things out. Nothing inappropriate—just talk things through, and come back more level headed.

As I said, she left me at one point. I started over and pretended not to care. I found others like her, but it was not the same. I even tried a younger version of her, but that was a disaster! We just never got along, the younger model and me. It is amazing what a difference 10 years can make. Trust me younger is not necessarily better! Fortunately for me, she came back to me, and we have been together ever since.

We reached a milestone together on Monday--one that even my father hasn’t reach in his 80+ years. It was kind of sweet in a way. We were coming to work together early in the morning, and I just had to pull over and take a picture of her. A close-up to show what we have been through together, to capture that special moment for us to remember after the inevitable happens.

To my favorite 1989 Pontiac Firefly, congratulations! I don’t think either of us has another half million Kilometers left in us.