The End of an Era.

Today, we got a new-to-us van. And yes, it's worlds snazzier than our old van.

But it just ain't got what our old van had.

It's called Character.

Our old van? It had lots of Character.

Lots and lots.

Like the perfectly round singed spot in the passenger seat from when I set a smoking skillet down on my way to Mamaw's for supper. Or the Dr. Pepper stains on the ceiling in the back seat. I really have no idea how Dr. Pepper got there. I probably don't want to know. And the eyeliner stripes above the backseat window. I do know how those got there, but I'm not telling. Amelie doesn't know either. Reallytruly. Then there's the claw hole in the leather of the passenger door from when my awesome cat Boots accidentally got shut up in the van all night. I guess the claw hole was from her desperate attempt at freedom. Poor thing, the window was right there, taunting her. The outside world - so close, yet so far. She still hasn't recovered emotionally. Just kidding.

Anyways, the bottom line is, I'm going to miss our van. Even though the doors didn't unlock properly, (which was pretty doggone inconvenient sometimes,) I loved it. Daddy picked it out, which makes it extra special, and I clearly remember the day he drove it home. Mama was terribly relieved he had bought a van and not a car, and she loves white vans. So we were all happy that day.

We went on lots of roadtrips in it. Good roadtrips. Like our trip to Louisville for my thirteenth birthday with three of my best friends. We had a blast in the van, and probably all the candy that fell down the seats is still there in glorious stickiness. And then there's the many trips to Atlanta in the van to visit my big bro.

Our van is a part of all those memories.

Old Faithful, I guess you could call her. (Or him. I don't really know the van's gender. For posterity's sake, we'll say it's a she.) And, okay, truthfully, she wasn't all that faithful. The mechanic was starting to be her favorite place to visit. On the other hand, Mama and I weren't too keen on the mechanic's shop, so we and she clashed a little over that small thing.

My greatest comfort is that even though our new van has a long way to come in the way of Character, since seven grandchildren and AnnMarie and Queen of Clumsy - that's me - will often ride in it, I'm guessing it'll amass Character very soon.

Very, very soon.

Like, within the week.