Sad day...

So this past Saturday, I had someone (and yes... I chose to redact and use that word intentionally) decide to take a left turn across 2 lanes of traffic from the opposite direction, in the middle of a Saturday afternoon and put their car right in front of mine, as I was cruising along at 40mph. Needless to say, I am still here and so is my father. However, my Subaru WRX did not fair so well. I will say honestly, Subaru puts some serious thought into their commercials, because they really are safe and do wonders in a collision, but they are heart wrenching to lose because so many of us have had them for the better part of our lives.

The whole situation is heart wrenching, not only because I loved that car, but because my daughter who is 9 dreamed of learning to drive a manual transmission on that car.

I have had that car since Sept 29, 2001.
It was the first major purchase that I ever made by myself as an adult.
I used that car to bring my wife home from our wedding.
I brought my wife and our newborn daughter home from the hospital in this car.
I moved across the country numerous times in my Subie, twice with my two furry copilots (neither of them are with me anymore either - lost both of them due to age in the last year as well).

It sucks. The whole situation SUCKS!!!

Today, I spent the better part of my morning working on cleaning out the car before it gets sold to the insurance company and hauled away from my mechanics shop. I will have to go back tomorrow, after a visit to the chiropractor, and complete the daunting task of emptying remnants of my 16+ years I have in that car.
I found the remains of my boutonnière from my wedding...
I found tokens for the tolls in NH (which by the way... they no longer use tokens so those are really worth something to me emotionally).
I have stickers on that car from breweries that don't exist anymore.
I had a sticker on it from the time it made it's way to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado.
I found numerous crafts that my daughter who is now 9 had squirreled away in the back seat, as well as a sticker on the window from a brewery in Colorado we visited to get out of the cold during Frozen Dead Guy Days (look it up, it's a trip!) .

Now I need to start looking for a replacement car, not that it will ever truly be replace. My WRX will always be in my heart, and will hold that spot of my 'first car' although it really wasn't. It just felt right, like it was meant to be. Soon, though, it is going to be time to let it go away.