Here's to you

I recently purchased a new car (well new to me) back in October and I swore to this cute, helpless little car that I would keep it looking shiny and new. I would never let anyone eat inside the car and it would get washed and detailed to keep it neat and clean, plus weekly rinses in the winter to keep the salt off. This was my intent I promise, and for the first couple of months or so I did just that. I regularly vacuumed and washed my car inside and out, I would make sure trash was disposed of and any jackets, sweaters, etc. or other miscellaneous items were never left inside. Passengers were basically patted down to ensure nothing could spill from their pockets or food could be sneaked inside before they were even allowed to buckle their seat belt. Then little by little the washes became more infrequent, I and would justify this by saying to myself, meh it’s just going to rain later this week anyway. After that only certain people would have the privilege of having food inside the car only if accompanied by a napkin and the food item was held up near their mouth so no crumb could escape while eating. Over time I just became lax in my rules, and while before I would wait until I got to my destination before eating, I found myself sneaking in a fry or two from the drive thru until one day the bag was open in the seat next to me and I would have the McDonald value fry finished while greasy, salty finger tips gripped the steering wheel before I even pulled into the driveway. My discipline over keeping the beauty of my car intact was falling apart. Side note to those about to judge me, it’s not like there was old food in between the seats and console or the outside looked as if I had just come down from the mountains digging around in the mud, nonetheless it was dirty.

This brings me to my point; I would like to apologize to you, my car, the one who gets me from point A to B in such a speedy and reliable manner. You are the one who kept me warm during those long winter months with your seat warmers, Laura and I especially got use of you driving in more than one snowstorm either through Logan Canyon or white out conditions on our trek to Idaho. You are the one who can change my mood when I open the sun roof on bright days or when I push the gas peddle and you easily accelerate past that old man driving his Dodge pickup while pulling a horse trailer in the fast lane on the freeway when he should clearly be the other side. Thank you for being who you are and taking care of me and my needs. Thank you for keeping me going while my gas light has been on for at least the last 20 miles. I cannot promise I will keep you spic and span but I will promise to always rotate your tires and change your oil on a regular basis, your windshield washer fluid will never run dry and if any light ever goes out it will be promptly changed. I hope that we will have a long and lasting relationship. Thank you car, you have been a good friend to me.