miles to go

coast to coast to coast to coast.

out with the old, in with the new car smell.

it's just the smell that's new (maybe spritzed in at the dealership), because the car is a 2011 with 21K miles on it.

but as someone said, if you haven't seen it, it's new to you. us. whatever.

and it was long overdue. the previous car was purchased in 1999. it was with us a long time, and served well. right up to the point where it fell apart like the blues mobile at daley plaza.

fourteen is old for a car. older still for an american-made suv with multiple cross-country trips carrying kids and dogs and irritable adults.

and while it was time to move on, there was a moment at the dealership when the missus paused and said, "it feels weird to just leave it here. we've been through a lot together." her eyes welled up, just a little, and at that moment, it got me, too.

i thought, briefly, about the big dogs riding in the back, and much younger children in car seats. trips to the beach on the outer banks. countless bags of groceries, and the smell of shredded bark mulch. 

the time zipped by like a blur of trees on the side of the road.

it was just a car. but as i'm just now discovering, right this second...turns out the space inside it was filled up with life.

damn, it got me again.