And I Would Drive 170,000 Miles, and I would Drive 170,000 More…

by Laura

Yesterday we gave the good old Honda Civic its first good vacuuming since Harold first got it in 2001.  While this was mostly incredibly disgusting, the car was a virtual treasure trove of mementos.  Under the seats, tucked into pockets, we found undergraduate parking passes, a Montreal guidebook, an AeroMask, snapshots from Harold’s first work Christmas party, a handbook of bowling techniques, that hair clip I’ve been looking for, an autograph from a yet-to-hit-the-big-time golfer, ticket stubs from Redskins, NCAA tourney and Nats games, and a Duke football next to a UNC umbrella.

This car has taken us as far south as Orlando and as far north as Maine & Canada, to beaches in over a dozen states, and as far west as….well, maybe Atlanta?  In Atlanta, where we stayed with a welcoming group of Georgia Tech AEPis, who let complete strangers crash in their commons room so they could root for an opposing team in the ACC tournament, grab burgers at The Varsity and marvel at the Coke Museum.  And we’re still going, 170,000 miles later.  Asheville next week, and the Outer Banks around the corner.  Trips to see family & friends, watch them get married, meet their new babies, or just sit in the sand.  Who would have thought that an aging Civic could make me feel so lucky?

All of these years of unintentionally accumulated souvenirs also reminded me that in a few weeks, Harold and I will have been together for a whole entire ten years.*  A whole decade!  Yeesh, people.  Again – lucky, lucky, lucky.

*Which you already remembered, right, honey?  I thought so!