Saying goodbye to Sydney

I washed and vacuumed my car very thoroughly today. After almost five fun-filled years, I'm saying goodbye to Sydney (named for the hero of A Tale of Two Cities) as part of my decision to stay in Brooklyn. So today I took him to a car wash and had them wash the outside. Then I spent about a half hour vacuuming out the inside-- I wonder if all that sand is from this summer or if it stuck around from previous expeditions?

I'm pretty bummed about having to sell my car. I mean, I know it makes sense; but we've just been through a lot together. I started reminiscing as I was driving back to my grandmother's. I remember....

...test-driving the car and stalling (it's a stick-shift) and then grinding the gears in my haste to make it better (this made the salesman pretty upset!).
...debating whether to get the car in red or black. I thought black would be more responsible, but my dad encouraged me to get the red since it would probably be my last shot at having my dream car. And I remember Danielle telling me she'd be upset with me if I got black because it was proven not to be as safe on the road. I listened to both of them and haven't regretted it once.
...about two days after I got my car and was still getting comfortable with driving stick, I drove some of my students to a basketball game and Tim Justnes had to coach me through starting on a hill. I made it all the way to where we were playing the game-- and then stalled in the parking lot in front of everyone else.
...driving Lucy home from Lancaster-- Steve drove so I could hold her, and she slept in my lap the whole way.
...many roadtrips with Lucy-- she loves being in the car and would just hop in the backseat and go to sleep as soon as we got on the road. To this day, when I visit my parents and it's time for me to go, she'll run and jump in the car (we have to explain to her that Sydney and I are going back to the city and that she's already made it clear she doesn't like it there).
...washing and waxing my car with my dad-- one of my favorite bonding things we do.
...roadtripping with Betsie for her wedding-- I drove up to New Hampshire to get her and then we drove out to Ohio for the wedding. We had some pretty sweet mix CDs for our journey!
...cramming my basketball girls into the car for games or to take them home after team hangouts.
...driving people to the apple orchard for our (what-has-become) annual apple picking and pie party.
...how Sydney turned into the "beach-mobile" several times each summer.... oh right, hence all the sand I'm still vacuuming out.....
...tying many various Christmas trees to the roof.
...so many other roadtrips-- to Michigan, to Maryland, to Cape Cod, to Erie, to Virginia....

I remember when I was deciding to buy a new car, my dad encouraged me to get a few of the extras. "You're young," he said, "and by the time you buy another car, you'll probably be taking kids and a mortgage into consideration. This is probably your last shot at having your dream car."

Sydney really is my dream car. I love that he's red and sporty and zippy and a stick-shift. I love that Sydney has taken me to visit many friends and been a huge part of making memories with others. So now I'm getting ready to say goodbye to Sydney, and I'm gonna miss him. Like I said, we've been through a lot together. 49,000 miles, to be exact.