Car-rying on

I pun, or attempt to, at the best and worst of times. It’s not listed as an official coping mechanism but it is one I employ along with snark, sarcasm and tongue-in-cheek humor.

This disclaimer is being given because I will be speaking about our family car and how it’s gone its merry way, away from us.

When Red and I were talking about settling down, he was still jetting around the city on a bike. It got him from point A to B but he realized that along with a wife eventually comes shopping and grocery bags and the minimalistic (and slovenly) ways of bachelorhood go the way of the Dodo.

Ergo, our first ever car made its entry with all due fanfare along with power steering and beautiful turning radius; optimum for many a narrow lane and crowded street I was to find myself on over the years.

Its trunk space (I can’t ever call it a dicky without grimacing) was a thing of beauty. Right from oversized suitcases, to strollers, diaper bags to shopping bags and now various sports kits; it has happily accommodated many bulky, squishy, lumpy things without giving up the ghost.

Sure, a knob or two became loose over time, the suspension wasn’t as smooth as the intial days but the faithful hatchback kept chugging along and became the mode of escape, road trips and was just right for our family.

When I think back on it, most of TO’s exposure to the bleeped words happened in this car. Half the times he had no clue what was being said and the other half, he’d give me a stern look, extremely reminiscent of Red and call me out saying, “How rude!”

His school runs to sports coaching to long heart-hearts have happened in our little car and there was a time when I thought that we’d have it forever. But needs must and we sent off our fat-bummed little car off to a new home with loads of wistfulness and nostalgia being indulged in…as always, by me.

We went in it to the hospital the day TO was born, brought him home in it, he had many meltdowns in it and sang his nursery rhymes. That in turn became trending music I would stream over the speakers.

I always struggled to attach the carriers and babyseats in it, became militant about childlocks and over a point of time it became my own cocoon of music, solitude and me time when I left Red and TO to bond while I did my “Mama-Needs-A-Break” drives away from them and onto long roads leading out of the city.

It’s nice to look back every now and then and see where you came from and how far you’ve travelled. In this case, literally. But it’s also nice to leave things behind in the rear view mirror where they belong. Indulging in nostalgia for nostalgia’s sake can be fun. But getting clouded by it can be tough to break out of.

I was telling my bestie that after moving homes a decade ago, this car was the only thing left from those initial days of being newlyweds and setting up a life of our own and I was finding it a tiny bit hard to let go. But change can also be fun to embrace especially if it comes with a smoother suspension, automatic transmission and even a sunroof.

Car-pe diem anyone?