I Heart Purple Cavaliers

When people ask me how Mike and I met, I often joke that it was in my backyard. That's true, since we met at a backyard BBQ my roommate and I were hosting. But to be more accurate, I should probably tell people I met him at my front door. I remember that summer night, six years ago, when I watched through the kitchen window as a purple Chevy Cavalier pulled up in front of our house and parked on the curb. A very cute guy got out of the car, and I hurried to fix my hair in the reflection of the microwave door as I silently cursed my roommate for not telling me any attractive, single men were on the guest list. I opened the door, our eyes met, and the rest is history.

Then came our wedding day. When our plans for transportation didn't work within our schedule quite the way we'd laid it all out, we just rolled with it and hopped into that same purple Cavalier. Mike insisted he spend a few minutes cleaning it out before letting his bride in, and I discovered that pounding dust out of the floor mats can, indeed, be a romantic gesture of the highest sort.


Most recently, Aaron and I begin watching carefully as the 5 o'clock hour approaches. We sometimes press our noses to the living room window, and other times take a little walk down the street. From inside or out, we're straining for that first glimpse of the purple Cavalier as it rounds the corner and heads for our driveway, announcing that daddy is home for the evening. What a welcome sight that rusty old car is!


So last night was bittersweet when we traded that purple Cavalier in for a newer family van. We were a little sad to see it go, to say goodbye to all those memories. "I've driven every one of those 155,000 miles," Mike said proudly. He was just 21 when he bought it new, and it was hard to let go of a car that has been a faithful friend and carried us through these early years of our marriage journey. But the road winds on ahead, and we'll be navigating it in our Toyota Sienna, with a couple of kids squawking from the back seats. Here's to the next 155,000 miles...