7 years

I drive a 2002 Galant.
It's a good car.
Philip bought it before he even had his license. That car sat for months under the carport polished, shined, and waiting for Philip's 16th birthday.
We'd sit in the seats and smell the fresh upholstery and leathery new car smell. I'd imagine us being able to just go just the two of us.
Before long we really spent most of our time in that car.
Enjoying the freedom of being able to go anywhere we wanted, whenever we wanted with just the two of us.

That car brought us to every day of high school, every homecoming and prom. That car helped us to escape our bedrooms and journey all over a town that we were really just getting to explore on our own.
That car even aided our escape OUT of town many a time sometimes with out our parents even knowing.
Concerts, restaurants, shopping malls, parks--you name it.
If there was some where to go, we went.

We shared a lot in that car.
We fought in that car. We made up in that car.
We rode home from my wedding in that car.
We drove to our honeymoon in that car.
We cruised the towns admiring homes and planning our own in that car. 
We brought our daughter home in that car.
We bring our little family to church in that car.

The Galant has been around, seen a lot.
7 years worth.
If that car could talk it might tell you how much we've changed--grown.
and at almost 100k miles and 7 years old it's still going strong.
Keeping us safe and getting us where we need to go.

So tonight as we go out to dinner to celebrate our being together for 7 years, I'll quietly thank the car for being along for the ride.