I just cleaned out my Toyota Matrix in preparation for trading it in. And it made me very sad. I bought my Matrix at a time in my life when I looked forward to a life that required a station wagon (albeit a nifty cool red one). Greg and I had just bought a big family-sized house, and I was thinking ahead a year or so when we started thinking about children.
Now, I'm "having a midlife crisis" (per my sister) and trading in my reliable, practical car for something with a bit more ... oomph. I'm at a different place in my life now. I'm single. I'm living in a much smaller house. I have no children. And I have no hope of having children anytime soon. In some ways, the Matrix is all that remains of the dreams and plans I had for my life four 1/2 years ago.
So, in cleaning out my baby, I mourn for that life, those dreams, those plans. I mourn for what I'd wanted, and the different path my life has taken. But in trading her in, I try to embrace this new road, and all the wonder and excitement that comes with it.
Goodbye, Old Life.
