Merry Christmas to all!

Fare Thee Well, Dear Civ...

Paris and I have known for months that we have to do something about our car situation. It's time to get some more room. Poor Atticus was crammed between 2 carseats in the Civic's backseat...Roomy! Plus, when we have the kids in the car there's no room for groceries.

(And they INSIST on eating...So inconvenient.)

So we procrastinated. And pondered.

How do you get rid of part of the family?

How do you sell the only car you've bought brand new? The one you got after you graduated college and had a real job where they actually paid you to take vacation? The first car you didn't buy from a relative or out of the paper for $800 or less?

How do you sell the car that you cruised California in as newlyweds?

That you took every weekend on fun getaways?

How do you get rid of the car that brought each of your babies home from the hospital?

The one that each of those babies subsequently locked themselves into at some point? ("Just push that little silver button for Mommy. I know you can do it!")

The car that took you to the opposite corner of the country on a 5-year adventure and then back again?

And then, more practically, how DO you sell a car that looks perfect to you but has 185,000 miles and lots of "love marks?"

Then it came to me in an instant...

You go out with a bang!

You give your glorious Civic the appropriately dramatic conclusion to 10 years of faithful service. You take a clue from Thelma and Louise and late Friday night you rear-end the heck out of an SUV in the rain. Problem solved.

(Disclaimer: No children, Mommies, or SUV owners were harmed in the making of this blog post.)

Finally, you hold a candlelight vigil the following Monday night and then bid a grateful adieu to an inatimate object you've loved like one of your own. Civic, we'll miss you.

Well, maybe not Atticus.