fun shoe fridays: Cars and more

The big news of the last week and a half is this...

followed by this...

Many gratitudes including the fact that the wreck was not my fault in the least, no one was seriously injured, Hunter was not in the car with me, and I had super family support from Jared, Warren, and Jackie. Additionally, the professionals who assisted me immediately, from police to EMS to emergency room personnel and later, the insurance adjuster and Carmax salesman, were kind, efficient, and patient.

However, it was with great sadness that I let the Xterra go. It was eight years old with about 130,000 miles, but it was running beautifully and we had gotten new tires and a new computer system (in order to pass the emissions test) within the last 19 months. Thankfully, I was on the way to fill up the car with gas so I didn't lose a full tank and we had not yet fixed the broken CD player. It was worth far more to us than the actual assessed value of the car and the eventual check for which it was written. We had actually discussed a plan to make it through two years of nursing school and then save up money prior to getting me a new car. I loved the Xterra and was happy to drive it for several more years.

I now have a pearl white Ford Escape and it is far fancier than the Xterra ever was. There are many more functions than the previous on or off switches of the Xterra and I had trouble figuring out how to turn on the back windshield wipers this morning. I like the car a lot and now hope and plan on driving it for many years. We did end up with a car payment because we couldn't get much car with what the Xterra was worth.

My memories are strongly associated with each house or car. I got the Xterra the same year that I graduated from Alabama with my master's in social work. I drove the Xterra the whole time I was working at Bradford and have had it the entire time I've known Jared. It has carried me to Vanderbilt for almost three years. My father and I picked out the Xterra together and sometimes it feels that I'm slowly losing each thing that he knew about or had a part in. He never knew me in my role at Vandy. He never saw my new house. He never met my son. And now, the car is different as well. That is probably what broke my heart the most. I would love his advice as I move through this difficult adult life. Jared and I consult Pop whenever we need someone and indeed, Jared spoke to him twice the day we were car shopping. So I am certainly grateful for that.

In other news, mom fail = white shirt + grape popsicle.