Today was the last full day I will drive my Nissan Sentra.  While I am excited about my new car (and many say its long overdue) I cannot help but to be a little, OK maybe a lot, sad.  There are so many memories wrapped up in this car that I feel sad to see it go.

I graduated college in that car.  I moved to Oklahoma by myself and not knowing a soul in that car.  I got married, graduated law school and drove Evan around for the first time by myself in that car.   I have lived hours away from my family for years, but that car made it easy for me to visit anytime I wanted.  But most importantly that car was purchased for me with more love than many people ever experience.

When I started college, I drove a 2000 Honda Civic that my mom and I purchased without my dad test driving it (big mistake, dad).  The Honda turned out to be a POS (OK, maybe not turned out, but always was) and left me stranded on the interstate multiple times.  My parents, concerned about my safety living 8 hours away, decided to purchase me a new car.

I still remember driving to visit my dad at the deer camp in the fall of 2003.  He had researched every single entry level sedan and entry level SUV on the market to see what car would be best for me. He had every single one written down on a legal pad with information such as MPGs, cost, etc. Most importantly, he knew the different safety features of each vehicle and in fact choose an 2004 Nissan Sentra because of its safety features.

Little did he know, a short nine months later I was in a pretty scary wreck in which I hit a tire with rim still attached on the interstate going way too fast (probably over 80 fast).  My car started spinning and I became what could only be described as a pinball between two guard rails.  Thanks to the hours that my dad had so selflessly put into looking out for my best interest, I came away from that wreck with only a seat belt burn on my shoulder.  Who know what would have happened had he purchased the trendy Eclipse I was hoping to drive.

I remember not wanting to call my parents to tell them about the wreck.  I just knew that my dad would be so disappointed that after all the time, effort and money put into getting me a new car, this happened.  But he wasn't.  Dad simply did what dads do and made life better.  He bought me my 2005 Nissan Sentra.  That was September 2004.

Since that time, I have driven that car everyday grateful that I have parents willing to make sacrifices for not only my safety but my convenience.  They didn't have to buy me the first new car, and most certainly didn't have to replace it when I stupidly decided to speed down the interstate.  But they did, and for that I was grateful.

I would like to say that from that day, I vowed to drive this car for as long as possible, but that is simply not true.  There were times that I wished I had a bigger car, times I wished it was more trendy, and most definitely times I wished it was not grandma gold, but in each of those times, I could not imagine trading my car for something else.  It may not be much to look at and may not mean a lot to many people.  But to me, it is a symbol of love from someone who has always had my best interest at heart.