140,022 Miles

That's what my odometer says today.

I really had to sit for a minute and think - when we got this car, it had 92,000 miles on it.

Before I had this car (which my husband and I loving refer to as the "mistake") I drove a 1994 Geo Tracker. I usually called it my wanna-be Jeep, but it was such a fun little car! I drove EVERYWHERE - over medians, through fields, peoples' yards - that little Tracker could go over anything.

That Tracker and I had been through a lot together. I bought it shortly after Matt and I broke up, and immediately drove it to Arkansas, loaded with 3 friends and some camping equipment. We camped at Devil's Den State Park and had an awesome week, complete with cave exploration, dancing under waterfalls, drinking, and just general idiocy. We listened to Dave Matthews, Rage Against the Machine, Sublime, 311 - we screamed, we sang - I can't remember feeling so young, and so carefree.

On the way home, we lost a wheel bearing. We got stuck somewhere close to Joplin, Missouri, and my dad came to our rescue, fixed the wheel bearing and sent us happily on our way home.

That little Tracker went all over the country with me for the next couple of years - more camping trips than I can think of, more boyfriends than I care to remember - we bonded, that Tracker and I. I had bumper stickers all over the back that said, "It's a Beautiful Day," and "Give Peace a Chance," and "All You Need is Love," and "I'm Not a Slut, I'm Popular."

I had a bandanna hanging on the rearview mirror with buttons on it that said things like, "Next time, we'll f*%k things up my way," and "One Love" and "Tree Hugger."

The top stayed off of that little Tracker at least 10 months out of the year. If it was cold, I turned the heat on, but the top stayed down. I kept a tie-dyed bandana in my glove box, because half the time when I was driving it my hair was in a million little mini-braids. I would tie the bandana around my head and let the wind do whatever it felt like doing.. it made me feel close to the road, and it made me feel free.

I was eight months pregnant and on my way home from my doctor's office when the clutch went out on Metcalf. It was 5:10 in the afternoon. Mike pushed it into the parking lot of a hotel, an we anxiously waited for AAA to come and tow us to the mechanic's.

When I saw my sad little Tracker sitting in the lot at Harold's shop, I knew it was time to let her go. Trying to put a car seat in the back of it was a joke, and when you combine that with the fact that it was a death trap on wheels - well, it certainly wasn't the responsible thing to do, keeping it to drive a baby around.

We managed to beg, borrow and scrounge $1200, and Harold went to the auto auction to find a suitable family sedan. He called and said he found the perfect car for us - four doors, good condition, and the mileage wasn't bad - only 92,000 miles on it (as opposed to my Tracker, which had close to 155,000). He brought it home.

The first time I saw it, I wanted to cry. This was not at all what I signed up for - this family sedan life. How was I going to be one with the road? I would look ridiculous driving this car with a tie-dyed bandana around my head. And forget the bumper stickers - I'd get arrested.

I sadly waved goodbye to my little Tracker and drove my new four-door family vehicle home. Mike tried to convince me that this was better for everyone - it had a good safety rating, room for the car seat, a trunk, even, for groceries! I was not convinced.

I am still not convinced. I still do not love to drive my Mercury Mystique, and I tell it that every single day. "You are not my soul, you family sedan of a car," I whisper bitterly, and think longingly of the day I will once again have four-wheel-drive.

But today as I arrived at work, I glanced at the odometer and saw that we have arrived at 140,022 miles. I thought about the things that have happened in my life during the last 48,000 miles - I brought my beautiful baby son home from the hospital in this car. I drove him to doctor's appointments, playdates, and friends' houses. We've been to the park to have picnics in this car. We drove 90 miles to Children's Mercy Hospital in this car the night Zion's fever rose to 105 degrees.

It's seen friendships formed and friendships broken. It's driven to Christmas dinners and Easter egg hunts. It's carted literally thousands of dollars of scrapbooking products around.

Surgeries, tooth extractions, rescue operations - this car has been there through so many of these things. It represents three years of Mabin history - we spend a lot of time in that car!

So may tomorrow, instead of whispering bitterly into the dashboard, I will thank it for being such a loyal member of our family. I will, however, tell it not to get too comfortable, because they are now making four-door Jeep Wranglers.