A Bittersweet Goodbye

Today we said goodbye to a very important member of our family, Joel's little red Nissan Frontier truck. Joel got this car in 2007 (shortly after we... ahem... broke up) and it became his faithful sidekick. This truck has given us some of the best times as we've shared deep meaningful conversations, hilarious and fun drives across town (great gas mileage), and yes the occasional make-out... hey, we're all adults here. As we've thought about selling the truck for a few months now we've reflected back on SO many fun memories and stories we have that involve it, and how really this little ole red truck has served not only it's purpose for our transportation and hauling needs but more importantly it has served as a little piece of home for our relationship. We've seen this truck through thick & thin and we like to think it's done the same for us : ) A few of my FAVORITE memories of the truck would have to be:
1. Joel giving me a promise ring before dinner one night outside the restaurant in the parking lot
2. One night the summer of my freshman year of college we sat in the back of his truck dipping vanilla wafers into chocolate frosting and just chatted and laughed all night... well ok, maybe just 'til my 10pm curfew
3. One time Joel attempted to teach me how to drive a manual in the church parking lot... this was an unsuccessful attempt that may or may not been pretty rough on the clutch
4. The night before our wedding (after the rehearsal dinner) I was up packing for the honeymoon and Joel was out with a friend of ours and we both just felt like we just needed to see each other one last peaceful time before all of the craziness the next day. Plenty of married friends of ours had told us that the day of the wedding is so busy and crazy that ironically you really don't get much time together, just the two of you, even though the whole day is about you. Anyway Joel stopped by and parked outside my parents house and we sat on the tail gate just holding on to each other saying over and over again "it's just you & me, it's just you & me". We both just wanted to completely feel ourselves the next day, not like the bride & groom, and I truly think that that night sitting on the tailgate not only had a drastic impact on how we both felt the day of the wedding but it also served as the perfect conclusion to our dating relationship.

Needless to say this little red truck will be greatly missed around the Henderson household. I'm not going to lie this morning when Joel texted me at work saying he'd sold the truck I got a little emotional... I've never had or understood an emotional attachment to a vehicle before so it takes a lot for me to admit that. But as you've read this truck will always hold a special place in our hearts. And now it's on it's way to Mexico... no, literally the guy told us that. Sigh.