WHEN A GRANDMA TRADES CARS

BY DAN MILLER
(originally posted September 19, 2005)

Back in July, I wrote about melted crayons on the seat of my car, and the affection I now feel for those stains, put there by my daughter.

Someday, when I trade that car, I'll probably miss those little globs of green.

It's funny how cars and houses, and certainly pets, become so entwined in the fabric of our lives that it's often difficult to let them go.

That essay (It's Only A Car) must have stirred up similar feelings in lots of people, judging by the number of email responses I've received over the past couple of months.

Whether the writer of this recent email was motivated by that particular essay, I don't know..... but it was sent to me by a local grandmother, who moved here from West Virginia, writing eloquently about trading-in her old car.
Here it is:

We traded cars tonight.
It was a sudden decision as we have been searching for the "right" car for 3 years.
As the deal was signed, I looked at my car, saw the WV sticker on the back window, the "Big Wheel" in the trunk, the booster seat on the back seat, and then I dried tears.

This very car had driven across I-64 and I-65 at a high rate of speed almost 5 years ago when my little grandson was about to make his entrance into the world.

This car had hauled boxes and boxes of items we moved from West Virginia to Tennessee 3 years ago.
This car held the car seat my little beloved sat in until it was replaced by the booster seat we changed over into the new car tonight.

This car held the little tiny scuff marks on the back seat where his little feet loved to swing against the leather of the front seat.
This car had empty lollipop wrappers he had carefully chosen when he got his hair cut last week.
This car, beloved, and I have enjoyed so many miles together.
Beloved will see the new car tomorrow when I pick him up from pre-school.

I wonder if he will cry when he sees our old car and the spills and scuffs are gone, and the WV sticker.

A grandma in Goodlettsville, Marilyn.

Thanks Marilyn.... I hope the little guy likes the new car.

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