Sad Day, Goodbye Emma

In memory...

Today was a sad day for our family. We said goodbye to Emma, Hans' 1994 Ford Escort hatchback that he's had since he was 16. We knew this day would come, and although we postponed it as long as possible, she finally died peacefully along the side of the highway while Hans was driving to work. She actually stopped running last Monday, but we needed some time to work out the details.

Rather than pay the money to fix her (since we have 4 cars and only 2 drivers, which is ridiculous), we decided to donate her to a Christian charity that uses donated cars to teach people the skills to become mechanics and rehabilitate them. Then they donate the fixed-up cars to families in the area who need them. So there's a chance Emma will be back on the road in the near future! The other good thing was that since we got all of the paperwork done before Dec. 31, we get the tax deduction for last year! What great timing!

Reily really enjoyed watching the tow truck today...But he got very upset when they took the car away! It was really funny...but kind of sad too. I don't think he really understood what was going on...I think he just thought Daddy was driving away and not coming inside.

Last glimpse...

Some of our favorite memories of Emma...

--Hans rolling backwards down a hill while trying to learn how to drive a stick shift.

--Seeing the two red roses on the front seat when Hans picked me up for our first date, and thinking how cool it was that I was on a date with a 16 year old with his own car.

--Driving across country to college with the spoiler that wasn't fully attached, which blew in the wind (rattled like crazy) the entire way.

--Hans teaching me how to drive a stick shift in a parking lot, and us yelling at each other the entire time. It was stressful!

--The seatbelt that didn't work on the passenger side. (I refused to ride in the car the last few years, and Reily never, ever, ever rode in it).

--Hans running out of gas multiple times in the last year because of fuel tank leak issues. That was really fun when gas was almost $4 a gallon.

--Hans thinking he was going to run off the road driving through terrible fog in Boston on his way to the airport to fly to France to surprise me and propose.

--Hans driving by himself to Mississippi and back, and surviving the crazy drivers down there!

--The way her "red" (faded to pink) paint glistened in the sunlight.

We'll miss you Emma...