Corrie the Corolla

This is going to seem silly to most of you but I form emotional connections with objects because of the sentimental value of it. So... hopefully you'll give me some slack knowing that.

This is Corrie. She was my first car. I bought her just before I turned 17. I went car shopping with my mom and my uncle. My mom let me choose the car. I prayed about it and prayed hard and even though the little Chevy we were looking at seemed like a better deal, Corrie is the one I felt was the car for me. I bought her in '99 and she is a 1997. She had 60,000 miles on her and I got her for $12,000. I made payments on her until shortly after I turned 20.

We used to think she was haunted. Sometimes we'd be riding in her and we'd hear whistling coming from the back seat. It wasn't the type that was the wind blowing through something but an actual tune. There were actually several people who heard it. We called it our friendly ghost.

I was everyone's carpool -- all of my friends and my sister's friends. I drove all the people in my town to seminary every morning. We lived 30 minutes from the church so the moms didn't want to drive to town, sit in the car and then drive back so they all came to my house and I drove everyone into town. I drove friends to school after seminary then I drove the homeschoolers back to their homes (including my sis and me).

This is the car we sped in to get to the hospital our son David was at after he had his first couple cardiac arrests. This is the same car that brought my son home from the hospital and my daughter back from signing the adoption papers. This is the car I rescued my sister from the deer that ruined her car and we managed to fit 3 car seats into the back seat to bring them home in. This is the car that survived my teenage years and my 20s.  There are so many memories in her.

Today, Ryanne asked me what the salvage yard will do with her. I started explaining that they'd take her apart and sell off all of her parts to people.... her tires, her radio, the headlights, the fluids.... then, I felt my heart break as I realized what was happening. The tears began and now I cannot stop them. I am so sad that she is gone. Like I said, I know that sounds ridiculous. I will miss Corrie, aka - the Scoob-Mobile or the Mystery Machine, (I was a bit of a Scooby-Doo nerd and had her decked out and Scooby Doo stuff  as a teen and in my early 20s) the gold car. When we got the van she became Paul's.

Good-bye Corrie. As ridiculous as it sounds... I sure miss her.