My Baby is Growing Up

Today, my car hit one hundred thousand miles. The big 100,000.

To most people, this probably isn't that big of a deal. To me, it's huge. My car, my baby Tick, he's starting to get up there.

I've mentioned my car before, but for a refresher, he's my 2001 cherry red Volkswagen Beetle. My parents bought him brand new in May 2001 and he's the only car I've ever driven. He's been a big part of the last 12 years of my life.

• My two friends and I made a big entrance at the eighth grade dance when we got dropped in 'the cool car'.
• I stared out the window dreamily from the back seat on the way home from that same dance after I had my first dance with a boy. Two boys that night, actually. 
• I took my driving test in it. I failed the first one and passed the second the next morning in it.
• It's how my friends found houses and parties because they could spot my car out front. 
• I've sobbed in it when I found a note on the windshield telling me my boyfriend was cheating on me. 
• I've driven upstate three times to see Dan when he worked in Flagstaff for the summer, one trip to the Grand Canyon, once to San Diego for Sea World and the Zoo, and once to Phoenix for a Dashboard Confessional concert that went horribly, horribly wrong. 
• He's been constantly ridiculed for smelling like crayons. Apparently Volkswagen uses an adhesive that smells like crayons when heated. Beetle + Tucson summers = Crayonmobile.
• We've survived one encounter with a red Camaro that couldn't read street signs. 

So, as weird as it sounds, here's to my Tick. May we have another 100,000 miles full of memories together.