Today this happened.

I showed the second picture to Cody and he immediately shouted out, “You did it!”

Husband’s response was more along the lines of ‘out with the old, in with the new’. It is a discussion we have been having as the miles creep upward.

Carter said, “What? Only 40 miles per hour…oh…I see.” (Typical Carter)

My reaction was more of a melancholy soaked smile. Stanley, my 2006 Subaru, has made it to 100,000 miles.

One hundred thousand miles. That is a lot of distance. That is a lot of time. That is a lot of memories. So many comings and goings with so many people and pets.

This is the car that (among so many other things)…

• I put a Band-Aid on to sooth Carter’s fears of getting a shot.

• that both Husband’s and my dad rode in, both gone now.

• that Cody had his first seizure in, in the parking lot of his speech therapist’s office.

• so many conversations took place in, especially with much a younger Cody and Carter as we went hither and yon. Conversations about the Tooth Ferry, photosynthesis, the varieties of goldfish crackers, the meaning of street signs, the solar system. Some topics deep, edgy even, but most mundane, pedestrian.

• I drove to midwife appointments in, Cody in his car seat, not sure he wanted a brother.

• I drove Oberon, my very beloved three-legged hairless cat, to the vet in on his last day, me pregnant with Carter and sobbing.

• I drove earning my Master’s degree and becoming a teacher.

There have been tears, laughter, adventures, songs – so many loudly and horribly sung song! – on the road we have traveled, on theses one hundred thousand miles.

While I have no immediate plans to sell Stanley, I know that he will not be my car forever. I hope I have another 100,000 miles to go with whatever my next car will be. I hope there will be great adventures and simple grocery store trips. And I hope I will remember to stop and reflect as I roll along.