The Parting of Ways....

                   All things must eventually come to an end.  Looking back on today, as I watched you driving off into the horizon, I could only reflect on the past experiences we have had. They say every girl never gets over her first. In eight years we weathered many a trial and tribulation.  We both grew older and more weathered, and while a part of me always enjoyed the comfort you offered, it was time for us to part ways.

                   I remember the day I made the decision with crystal clarity. I had slept in past the alarm on a Monday morning, and rushed to get ready for work at the office.  It was a harrowing morning, my hair tangled, my eyes swollen, and my makeup in disarray, when I made it downstairs and tried to get you to take me just four blocks to the office.  You remained cold and silent, relegating me to take the bus in an attempt to get there on time.

                   It had been the final straw.  I looked back on our time together.  I remembered our first road trip.  There was the harrowing experience of bouncing over the dunes on the beach to get on to the extension and see the pods of dolphins and whales moving through the ocean. I remembered the  time that you had been  there when  Eric Forest  broke my heart and  dumped me at the prom and you were there, ready and waiting,  to take me wherever I wanted to go.  The tears I shed with you, the laughter I offered, sometimes that is not enough to hold things together.

                   When we had come here together, I had this dream that we would get through any circumstance or difficulty.  There would be no cost to high, no situation so fierce as to tear us apart.  But that morning, with your stunning silence, I had to face reality. We could no longer care for one another. You silent stoicism in the morning had done well in showing me the error of my ways. I had forgotten to be there for you.  Shirked my responsibilities and focused so much on my career you were left with just the bare necessities to survive on.  Yet I also knew I could not stand to send you on your way into the unknown.

                   The decision was difficult, but by the time I returned home, my sorrow was replaced with hope.  I knew, if I made this choice, it would be better for the both of us.  I would find a new dependence and freedom in choosing what I wanted next in my life, and you would go somewhere that you would be appreciated and cared for. 

                   As I watched you depart from my home, your color better than I had seen in years, I knew I had made the right decision. Already you were looking better and more prepared for what was to come. There were no tears from me, and I would like to think you hold no hard feelings as well. My life has continued to change and with a new marriage and a child on the way, the time where we could be together has gone.  You will always be my first though, and now you are where you belong as well. With someone who can appreciate and care for you as you should be cared for.

                    I will miss our lazy days and moonlit drives. Perhaps in the future, when things change we will meet again.  Goodbye, Lancelot, you were my first love; My first taste of freedom.  Never let it be said that a woman cannot appreciate and care for her first taste of the wild side.  Never would I have imagined that my first love would be a ratted out ‘67 Mustang that needed a rebuild and its interior restored. But I would not have changed a thing.

                   The parting of ways has been a somber reminder of how life changes.  While I’ll treasure the memories it is time to make new ones.  I can only wish us both the best.