Its just a van or is it really more than that

She's gone. She never did have a name. I almost felt like I should give her one as the tow truck drove away with her. For some reason, saying good-bye to this van has been more difficult for me than I expected. It could be that this van, our 2002 Chevrolet Venture, has been part of my adult life longer than any other.

Its just a van, but for some reason when they were preparing it for its finally journey, I couldn't stop the tears from coming as I thought of all that had taken place in that van over the last 5 years.

The first memory this van brings to mind, is bringing D. home from the hospital. It also took him to have numerous blood draws to finally find that he had a Vitamin D Deficiency that was easily fixed.

This van also took us down to Denver numerous times to visit with Grandpa and Grandma Higman. It took us to Canada at least once a year where we made special memories with our family. Our van took us twice to my favorite place in the world, Arlington Beach, where our children learned to love this special place also.

This van also took us to the funerals of our last Grandparents, Grandpa Alexander and Grandma Wassam.

This van provided transportation to numerous doctors appointments for our children where we learned how they were growing and that they were healthy. It took us to swimming lessons, skating lessons, sports camps, and VBS, where our children learned more about hiding God's word in their hearts, to visit with friends, to choir, and to church. It took the girls to Greeley everyday when they were little so they could attend school and then to Riffenburgh for home school specials. It held many of our belongings as we moved from Eaton to Fort Collins.

This summer, our van was extremely busy carrying us to places that helped us build memories as a family. It started with a hike up to Horsetooth Falls, and then a wonderful weekend together at Sky Corral, to Discovery Park, where we hiked in the rain, to two Vacation Bible Schools, sports camp, swimming lessons, to Focus on the Family in Colorado Springs, and finally to Canada to visit with family and see my nephew marry a lovely young lady. It was on this trip that our van hit a deer and although our van made it home, it was to be the end for it. The damage too great to fix, it was time to let it go.

We were able to find another van that we like. It will take some time to get use to the different features, but I am sure that this van will also provide the way to many more memories with our family.