happy car mitzvah, intrepid!

Did I mention that I have a teenager? Like most teenagers, this one can be rebellious, and is not always reliable, but is full of character and personality. My teenager is sometimes exasperating, but ultimately does what it is supposed to. Like most teenagers, mine has its off days, and finds itself in need of a boost every once in a while. I try not to push my teenager too hard, but I do expect certain things without having to ask. I suspect my teenager will want a permanent break from any and all responsibilities soon. And, as I suspect so many others dealing with teenagers grudgingly admit, I am both prepared for and dreading this inevitable moment.

Oh yeah, feeding my teenager costs way too much, and it eats like a pig. But when my teenager is no longer useful, we’re getting a new one.

That’s right folks, I drive a 13-year old car. An INTREPID no less! It’s my very first car; It’s big, it’s white and it’s old. It was also free, and we’re driving into the ground. We’ve had intrepid since september, 2001 and it truly owes us nothing.

It’s had it’s breakdowns, it’s dust-ups and it’s run-ins, but we’ve shown it our share of neglect as well – with well over 200,000 klicks on the old odometer, it probably could have used an additional oil change or two.

Oh, but we’ve had some adventures! We’ve driven it through city and country, across borders (both provincial and international) and into magical places!

A few memorable moments with intrepid:

• Driving my first car for the first time.
• Hubby, a foot taller than me, getting into the driver’s seat after I’ve been there, exclaiming ‘oh god, why!?’ or looking around for ‘midgets’. I giggle like a schoolgirl every bleedin’ time.
• Almost always taking the scenic route, thanks to our now-raggedy backroads map.
• Almost killing myself by swinging plugged-in jumper cables around.
• Getting rear-ended at a red light. My first accident. Bumper replaced.
• Getting hit by a deer on a country road at night. YES, the deer hit US. Deer was ok. Car needed work. Side door replaced.
• Crunching the mirror as I attempted to back into my parking spot at our old place. Mirror replaced.
• Sliding into a pole in a parking lot on an icy night. Might have been distracted by yapping with passenger/friend. Door a crunched-in mess. Never replaced. Ghetto.
• Installing the infant car seat.

Obviously, to be able to handle driving a 13-year old car with a huge dent in the side, I am no snob. It’s not a status symbol, a mark of my success or anybody’s damn business, anyway. It is, however, very often the rattiest car on the road, and we know that it is soon headed to the great gas pump in the sky. We’ve debated not replacing intrepid, but think that it will just be too hard to see our friends and families, grocery shop, lug unnecessary shit home from ikea, etc. we already don’t drive downtown; that won’t change, even if we do get a car that could now fit into city parking spaces. It’ll be something practical, but cute; affordable but reliable. Of course, it’ll never be like the first.

Happy car mitzvah, intrepid. Mazel tov on all of your accomplishments. Now go thank aunty ethel for the beautiful watch.