It was bitter sweet

Putting in coolant.

Friday, June 24, marked the end of an era for us.

I drove Ryan's 1994 Nissan Altima to Liberty Motors and traded it in for another set of wheels for my man.  We had planned on keeping this car running until Ryan's last year of residency, but it turned out that that was not a realistic expectaion.

I felt more sentimental than I thought I would, leaving it behind in the parking lot.

That car has been Ryan's car since I first met him more than 10 years ago. It is the car that left him stranded in a small Arizona town with a broken axle 2 days before our wedding in Salt Lake City, Utah.

It is the car that would not start the day I was in labor with Jace, leaving Ryan stranded at the dental school trying to hitch a ride home from fellow classmates to take me to the hospital.

His car has not been reliable this whole first year of residency.  Every month Ryan has had to change the sparks plugs to keep it chugging, and also the oil because all the coolant was leaking into the oil pan.  And of course there was the smoke that came up through the steering column, and the deafening roaring that it made.  Just to name a few of its problems. There is also the fact that the starter was going out and it took several tries pushing the key in horizontally and then forcing it down to get the engine to turn over. 

But most of all, Jace loved fixing this car with his Dad, and it was gifted to Ryan from his beloved grandmother-Magoom. 

But the  Dr. FINALLY admitted defeat after having the experts determine that it would be very costly to keep it running.  He told me it was time to spend our rainy day fund and get a reliable car.

It is true that all things wear out and have to be replaced.  This little car served us well for many years, and finally had to go its way.

A typical Saturday scene at our house.

Jace helping his dad fix the car.

When we told Jace that we would have to get Daddy a new car, he emptied his piggy bank and gave his Dad all his money.  So sweet.

He also helped him clean out all the "junk" and

wash the tires too.

Ryan's car all spiffed up and ready to be traded in. 

Me at Liberty Motors at 2:00pm on Friday picking up Ryan's new car with Jace still in his pajamas and barefoot-awesome!

Dr. Hot with his new set of wheels.

Ryan was on call yesterday and didn't get home until 2:00am this morning. It was so nice for me to go to bed last night and not worry if his car was going to get him home in the middle of the night, and he was so glad that he didn't have to walk home at 2:00am.  Wow, what luxury a reliable car provides. Who would have known.  We might have done it earlier!