Miles says good-bye to "The Gold Car"

So we sold "the gold car" (what we've always called it with Miles and Emery ... Kristen's van being "the silver car") to Car Max this afternoon.  We are now officially (for the next 6 weeks) a one car family.  I'm actually biking to my workshop at South High tomorrow ... which will be nice.

Miles was very sentimental about the sale.  More than I expected.  When we first talked about it a few days ago he got 'misty' but fought to hold back the tears.  This morning I invited him out to the garage, and we sat in the car together, and talked about his feelings.  It was really interesting.  I didn't expect an 8 year old to be as connected to "his past" as much as he seemed to be.  He talked a lot about how it was the first car he had ever been in, and that we had owned the car his "whole life."  I asked him (as he was wiping away tears) if he understood the car didn't actually have 'feelings' ... he quickly told me that the car made him remember his "own feelings" ... which I thought was pretty cool.  Of course I did my very best to validate his feelings as important.

When we all took the car to Car Max, Miles asked if he could ride by himself in the 'gold car' with me driving.  Emery - not feeling this same emotional connection - obliviously agreed to ride with Kristen.

Miles was really quiet on the ride there and during the paperwork transaction.  At one point I was asked to go move the car from the parking lot to a service bay ... and Miles ran after me so he could ride in it one more time.  We then went back inside together and finished signing the papers.

When we turned to leave the building he started to tear up again and asked, "Dad, can I go say good-bye to the car?"  So Kristen walked Emery back to 'the silver car', and I took Miles back to the service bay.  It was gone!  They had already moved the car to a back lot.  But I did catch, out of the corner of my eye, the back of the car sticking out from behind another one ... behind a chain-link fence, and I took him over to the fence.  He started crying pretty hard.  After a few moments he blurted out "Bye Gold Car ... I love you," waved to it, and turned to walk away.  I turned to follow him, started walking next to him, and put my arm around his shoulder.  We were a good 25 yards down the path when he asked, "Dad, can we please go back and you can take one more picture with me and the car?"  So ... we turned around and went back once more.  This time I snuck him into the back lot to snap the picture.

On the way home we all talked about the "good times" we had experienced with the 'gold car' in our lives.  I reminded the kids that the car was purchased right after Kristen and I were married ... so it's also 10 years old!  Kristen reminisced that there was a picture taken of Miles once - when he was little - pretending to drive the car.  That brought smiles from Miles, and we agreed we would uncover that picture this afternoon.