end of Suburbans

A long chapter of my life has officially come to an end.  It is the chapter affectionately titled “Driving a Suburban.”  When I had my first child, I traded in my Grandmother’s hand me down Ford Explorer and got my first Suburban.  My original one was white.  I put a single car seat in it, smiled big, and took off.   I followed up with red, but always felt like I was driving a firetruck.  Next, I went with white again and filled it up with kids and car seats immediately.  When that one was worn slap out, I went with a 2012 white one again.  

Purchasing a Suburban proved to be more challenging each time.  The price increased and each model was fancier.  I refused to ever buy one with a television.  Back in the old days before cell phones ransacked my family, we talked in the car.

Some of my fondest memories with my crew will always be from our local and not so local journeys in our Suburbans.  I mastered the art of feeding a baby a bottle with my arm stretch back into the seat behind me.  (Perhaps this is why I regularly see Dr. Shultz, a chiropractor.)  The baggies of goldfish consumed, Icees from Rob’s, and Aaron Watson songs will never be forgotten.  

Well, last week I turned in my keys to my last Suburban.  Our days of all loading up and going everywhere together are over.  That humbling fact combined with the price tag on a new one convinced me to sell. Mr. Randy at Texas Cars and Trucks made it the easiest car transaction ever! It was so incredibly quick and easy that I wondered if I needed a session of counseling to let my “big car” days go!  I felt a bit lost when I walked into the door at school with only a box of remains from my Suburban…I had no keys, no big car, just a box.  

Several days have passed and I am excited now about having one less car. I mean DUH…There are “keys to life” that matter much more than any keys to a vehicle have ever mattered to me.  

Friendship is a key to life.  I stood back last night and looked at the families in my kitchen, and I was in awe.  There were 18 of us under one roof.  Seven families were represented.  Kids were sitting up on the countertops, in and out as usual.  There was a beautiful mix of camo and maroon and gold (our school colors).  The adults were telling stories, and everyone was laughing.  It was not a planned get together.  There was no food, unless you count s’mores, which I call a major food group, but it was the best.  The adults and kids represented in this informal gathering do life together.  What a blessing that is.

Another key to life that relates to family and friendship can be found in Deuteronomy 6.  An entry last week in my journal read “I am 43 – at such an interesting point in my life, aren’t they all though?  Kids are 16, 14, 12, and 11.  I think often… I don’t want to miss it Lord.  I don’t want to wake up at 50, 60, or 70 and think “Why didn’t I..”  This life is ONE SHOT.  I have one try and very few years left to impress upon my kids Deut. 6. That says…Love the LORD your God, with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your strength.”  

Friends, I share that verse with you because it is my one greatest desires for myself and for those I know.  I repeat it often.  I use it often in writing because IT, dear ones, is the key to life.