It’s after 1am and I can’t sleep. Not because the lightening and distant thunder are keep me awake but because in the next several days I’ll be saying goodbye to my old friend who has been in my life for 15 1/2 years.

We’ve been everywhere together since 2000. She’s seen our 3 kids grow up, been on many vacations with us, witnessed me cry tears of joy, sadness and frustration. I hate saying goodbye and I’m emotional just thinking about it. I’m going to miss her.

Many people will think I’m nuts. Growing up in the Detroit area we learned at an early age how important cars were and are. My friend, the one I will be saying good-bye to in the next several days, is a 2000 Chevy Suburban that has travelled 170,000 miles with me and shared 15 1/2 years of our lives.

It’s hard to say goodbye to part of the family that has:

• driven me, my husband and 3 kids (now grown and flown) to doctors appointments, sporting events, schools, churches, weddings, funerals, parties, luncheons, dinners, and celebrations of all sorts
• been stuffed beyond reason with kids, adults, pets, food and supplies for much anticipated vacations; for 5 moves that started in the midwest, to the Atlantic seaboard, the south, and two states out west
• carried me safely through profound snowstorms, torrential downpours, and weather of all kinds to client meetings across states, charity functions, visits with family and friends, and commitments too numerous to name
• toted tons of building materials for DIY projects, tons of mulch, and thousands of plants for gardens
• been witness to watching the cat step on the lock button and locking me out – with the engine running  (The pic below is exactly how that happened!)

This vehicle has been a part of every aspect of our lives for the last 15 1/2 years. She has never let me down – OK, maybe once or twice – but that’s pretty spectacular in ANY relationship of that duration. She, like me, needs a bit of bodywork. She, like me, isn’t as bright and shiny as she was 15 1/2 years ago, but she’s still FABULOUS!

She has been a good, trustworthy part of the family and we want to assure that she is able to continue touching others lives. Today, or tomorrow, our friend of 15 1/2 years will be donated to Wheels For Wishes which benefits the Make A Wish foundation. She will be sold and her proceeds will go to help fulfill the wish of a local child with a life-threatening medical condition.

Semisonic puts it best in the song Closing Time: “….every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end….” The beginning of my relationship with my mechanical friend is at an end, but with this end comes a wonderful beginning of a child’s special – and sometimes last – wish.

She’s lived a lot of life with us and I hate saying goodbye to my old friend, but she’s traveling an important road making wishes come true.

For more information about making donations click on either link:

      Wheels For Wishes

      Make A Wish