Well, It Was Fun While It Lasted

It was fun being a two-car family for those two and a half months. Yes indeedy.

Hey, at least Cloud the Ford Escort survived the drive to Oklahoma (even if his air-conditioning completely went out), and AT LEAST Cloud waited to die on us until we'd secured a second automobile (thanks, Cloud). Apparently having a busted clutch and transmission was a little too much for the ol' feller, so after getting the unfortunate news from the mechanic and calling around to a few used car dealerships, we ended up selling him to a long-bearded, trucker-cap-wearing, extremely friendly salvage guy for $150. (Specifically, he unfolded his huge wallet and handed me a $100 bill and a $50 bill. We are so dumbfounded as to what to do with a $100 bill that we just put it in our lockbox for now.)

Sigh.

So, we're back to being a one-car family again. Fortunately, a coworker of Tim's (who happens to live across the street) is able to give him a ride to/from work most days, which means that Weston and I can keep Serenity the Toyota Corolla. And fortunately, if there ARE days that I need to drive Tim, he only works 15 minutes away, so it's not too bad. But still... we're going through the grieving process right now. Reaching "Acceptance" is actually much easier when you're grieving for a car that was pretty much a piece of crap and that has cost you thousands of dollars in repairs, but you still have to grieve. So, here's a brief "BEST OF" remembrance for our beloved Cloud:

-That time when we borrowed money and bought you, when we were engaged, so that Tim could drive down and visit me at school in DC;

-That time when Tim drove you into what was basically a river (Tim's note: it was a flooded creek!);

-That time when we drove with you from the Washington DC temple to the family luncheon just after getting married, and realized that hanky panky was suddenly okay (NO, we were patient, you guys);

-That time when you brought us from Pennsylvania to Utah (pulling Toby the U-haul Trailer, to boot);

-Those two times that Tim got speeding tickets with you;

-That time when Tim crashed you into a curb (Tim's note: I didn't crash into a curb... I kind of jumped a median. Totally different);

-All those times that you took us on fabulous camping trips;

-That time when you broke down in Jackson Hole, forcing us to pay $100 of our meager student income for a hotel, which made me cry;

-That time when we ferried you ON A CAR TRAILER from Utah to California, and you STILL broke down and needed a new battery;

-That time when I sat down in the passenger seat and pulled way too hard on your door handle and popped it right off (which resulted in lots of funny confusion on the part of our passengers, who tried to figure out how to close that door without a handle);

-That time when you broke down on INTERSTATE 210 and Tim struggled to pull you over in the midst of 65-mile-per-hour traffic (thanks again for the AAA help, Kate);

-Those three times that I got parking tickets with you, but managed to weasel my way out of two of them (yes, I weaseled);

-That time when we brought our baby home from the hospital with you, and I sat in the backseat and kept trying to shield his little face from the sun;

-That time when you broke down in Sierra Madre in the pouring rain with Weston in the backseat;

-That time when we drove from California to Oklahoma with you, and realized that the end was probably near;

-That time that someone climbed on top of you in the middle of the night and cracked your windshield;

And finally...

-That time outside of the mechanic's shop when I emptied everything out of your trunk, took off the license plate cover, looked at you, and said goodbye, while Weston stared at a bug in the grass. :-)

Bye-bye, Cloud. We love you. Don't worry, Serenity will take care of us now. (Isn't it funny how sentimentally attached we become to our cars??...)