“Goodbye,” you whisper, waving as you watch the tow truck wind its way down the street and disappear; its cargo your car. And if you’ve got any sort of history with that car, it can make it hard to part ways. So to speak. Some fond car owners find a goodbye party or a ritual helps ease strong feelings that come with saying adieu—feelings that may take you by surprise—after all, a car is not a person, even if you have named it.
Did you drive the car to a first date, to the hospital with your special passenger in labor? Maybe you hung out with your friends in that car, not long after you got your license, just cruising around. The location of a memory is forever associated with that memory in your mind.
Look, it’s not like you’re going to cut off your hair or banish yourself from the kingdom over saying goodbye to your car. It’s not THAT big a deal. Still, it isn’t something to brush off, as if it has no meaning at all. If your car means anything to you, actively say goodbye, however you choose to do it.
How to Say Goodbye
Three ways to say goodbye to your car:
- Write three memories on a small piece of paper. Fold it tiny and stick it in the glove compartment. Your car can’t read, and it may be going to a recycling plant, but writing it down and placing it in the car helps you understand why you feel a connection to a complex machine.
- Toot a party blower or open something fizzy and raise a toast. That certainly constitutes a goodbye party for an inanimate object with which you share a history.
- Have someone take a photo of you posing with your car. You don’t have to frame it, though you can if you like, but keep the photo somewhere. You can come across that photo at some point in the future and smile at the memory of yourself at the wheel at a momentous time in your life.
As you take leave of your car, use as many of these suggestions as you like. You can also think up your own way to mark the occasion. However you say goodbye to your car, remember also, to be grateful for the good times, and for lessons you learned from the rest.
