Ode to the Yaris

It drove me out of my senior year, and almost into the birth of my second child. 

It has made several road trips from Illinois to Florida and vice versa. Countless trips to Nashville, St Louis, and almost across the entire state of Missouri for one interpreting test have been made within its tiny little bubble of car. It also has made a rough estimate of about 15 concert trips and 20 Disney trips.

And July 11, the Yaris took its final trip with me to be traded for a minivan. 

To be quite honest, I never thought I would have an emotional attachment to a car. Just not my thing really. However, the closer I moved into adulthood and parenthood, the more I realized just how much of my life had happened in that car. I had picked that car out myself after a town cop had totaled my first car. And, yes you read that right- cop rear ended a Buick who rear ended me, and I rear ended a truck just enough for his trailer hitch to go through my front bumper and into my radiator. And the truck had not a scratch on it. Someone had told me, upon getting the Yaris, that it looked like a little blue goldfish driving down the road, and the name Goldie stuck as a pet name. Clown car, jellybean, blueberry, and a few others were given by other people I knew, but I ignored most of those. 

In that car, I learned a lot about myself, where God was leading my life, developed one of the most important friendships I'd ever have, prayed over some of the biggest decisions that would change my life's directions entirely, and listened to a broader variety of music in in that most people do in a lifetime. More memories than I can fathom have been made with this car.

This was mine and Andys first married car- as in, the only vehicle we had in our first year of marriage (his died shortly before our wedding). We drove off into the sunset to our honeymoon in this car (that was one of several Disney trips that was aforementioned). Even after Andy and I acquired the HHR just weeks before Zoey was born, I knew my days with the Yaris were probably limited- that the girl who drove that car off the Marion Toyota lot all those years ago, had grown up and would not have a life where keeping it would be practical. I cherished every day I drove it to work at the Disney Store or interpreting. In the 6 years of owning it, I never had a single problem with it. But flash forward almost two years later with a second baby on the way, having a second car with four doors has become much more practical than having one small car with four doors, and one smaller car with two. 

So we found a van. We made a deal. And as the rain poured outside, we signed the Yaris away with a prayer it would find someone who would love her as I loved her. She managed to keep us from having a car payment on two cars at once, her final nudge to take care of me, even though she was worth more than the man at the dealership ever considered offering us for her. 

And while I love our new-to-us gold minivan, with its automatic opening doors and stow and go seating with lots of space for new memories and stories, I can't imagine loving it any more than I ever loved my Yaris. 

(From the day I brought it home)

Unless Andy installs the monorail "please stand clear of the doors..." spiel for the van. Then I might.