Beautiful in my eyes

Last Saturday I forever parted with a companion that I had known for most of my life.

I remember the day he was first brought home...

I was a nine year old little girl when I first met him...and I loved him that first moment I crawled into the back seat and my feet dangled.  Oh, the places we went in that little green Taurus.  We drove a 24 hour journey to Texas.  We drove to Wisconsin Dells, we drove all over... I was always so proud of my little green Taurus.

When my big sister, Nicole turned 16 she got her learning permit, my poor little car got abused for a few months.  But he was such a good sport, never complaining.  I will never forget the countless times my poor car was forced to go over curb after curb.  This little Taurus even got its side view mirror knocked off the first time Nicole tried to go through a bank drive through. After a year, Nicole improved in driving...a little, bit at least:)  The Taurus got a break from abuse.  A couple years later I got my learning permit....  Once again the Taurus became the car in which I practiced driving in.  All went well.  I must admit I was, and am a very careful driver.  Then the day after I got my licence, it happened.  I decided to drive around the church to pick up my sister, that way every one could see me driving...ALONE...  I proceeded to pull around the front of the church, all the while scraping the side of the car along the side of the brick wall.  Yes, I believe everyone saw me driving that night and my car got a few marks and bruises.

Then my poor little Taurus got scraped by a yellow pole in a parking lot...once again by Nicole... it really is quite a funny story.. She thought she managed without getting a mark on it, she drove home, thanking God all the way that she didn't bang up the car.  Then she pulled, as the whole family gawked at the thick yellow line of paint all down the side of the car.  Thankfully with a lot of elbow grease it came off!

Then just a few months ago...he was driven into a ditch...a deep deep ditch...that was me!!!

But all the while he kept chugging along; faithfully driving me to and from school, work, and church... 

Regretfully, the Taurus became quite ill.  He began to fail emission test after emission test.  This past month he really suffered.  My dad told me to be prepared to part with him.  

It was hard....

But I knew the time had come when he could only go 30 miles per hour down the highway.  I knew the time to part ways was coming when I couldn't push the break for an extended period of time because he would shake so terribly.  I knew time his time was drawing to an end, when I would proudly get out of the car, only to scrape my leg on the rust on the bottom on my car, and then enter work with blood trickling down.  I knew his time was coming to an end when I had to put the car in neutral for it to be in drive, and drive for it to go in reverse.  

  

But in spite of all its faults, I had a bond with that little green Taurus.  After all, it was a part of my family for almost as long as I can remember, it was the first car I ever drove, it was the first car I ever banged up, and it was the first car that I truly developed a lot of good memories with... 

It was the first car that I had to say goodbye to. And you know when I said goodbye, I was actually really sad.  I had Nicole go and take a few pictures of him just so I can always remember my little green Taurus, a beautiful car in my eyes:

Then we replaced him.... 

with a dashing black Chevy:

 I look forward to making many more memories

with him!