Last Oklahoma Weekend

July 10th is fast approaching.  It’s funny how it felt like just yesterday that I was sitting at Chick Fil A with my friend Carla and we were both looking at our “Alaska Countdowns” on our phones.  It felt like those 60+ days would take forever to get here and then they were gone in a flash.

Just the other day, on July 3rd, I realized that was the day I packed up and moved out of Mount Prospect not knowing what Oklahoma had to offer me; I was living for the day and following my heart. Now, 5 years later…almost to the day…I am packing up once again.

Today was a sad day, we said goodbye to Rich’s prize possession, his Grand Prix.  It may not sound like a big deal to many of you but this was not just a car. For me, it was the 1st time I knew he really liked me….he let me drive it (that was a BIG deal!), it was the car we said “I love you” for the 1st time in, it was the car that we would sit in until 3 am talking about what we wanted from life.  For Rich, that was the car he worked hard for, it was his dream, his baby.  It was also the last car his dad worked on for him.  I’ll never forget watching his dad dismantle the whole car to repaint it and the new hood he put on it.  His dad and CJ worked their tails off that summer to have it finished for Rich before he came home from Field Training (I’ll toot my own horn to add that CJ and I stayed up all night to finish it, well…technically, I just vacuumed it, but still, I helped!)  Blood, sweat, and tears went into that car…..and now its gone.  Rich managed to strip a few things off of it, for keepsakes. Our future garage will look awesome with the bumper of the Red Grand Prix mounted on the wall.  His dad would be proud.  I’m proud.  I wish his dad was still here to see how far Richie has come in the last few years.  He’d have a huge grin on his face and probably make fun of his son for being an Officer in the Air Force…not having to deal with the grunt work. Then his dad would ramble on about some car he saw at a car show or ask Richie how his car was running or if he’d gotten his air conditioning fixed yet…….

See….its not just a car…..its memories.