Our son Matt just got a new car this past weekend…A nice bright shiny red Honda Fit.  Wow, he was excited, and rightly so! It’s a big deal when you go and do the work (and save the money) to buy a car, especially when you are young. I can still remember when I was about a year out of college and had saved up enough money as a new nurse, to purchase my very first  new car. I lived in Colorado at the time and my biggest memory is how exciting it was to go shopping  for that car. Exciting and Scary!  It’s a big purchase…I was so grateful for my brother-in-law Mart, as he was the one that went with me to figure out which car to get, and how to bargain for the price. Mart and I looked at all sorts of cars. If ever there was an organized, clear headed type person to go with me, it was Mart. He knows his cars, and he also  graciously could read my mind as to what type of car  I might like.

We test drove all sorts of cars and then finally ended up choosing a sweet little Honda Accord. (Gotta love those Hondas!)  I can still remember how exciting it was to purchase that car and to this day, a new car  smell reminds me of my Honda. Back then (1980) the music system was all about the cassette player. Yes, the cassette tapes were all the rage! Come to think of it, Mart also went with me when I purchased my first stereo, which included a turn table and a cassette player.  But back to the car…I lovingly named that car “Rhonda Honda” and I can still remember how excited my nieces, Mollie and Jill were, riding around with me in Rhonda Honda, and they were all of three and five at the time. Wow, the years did fly by!

Rhonda Honda served me well, as I drove it with sister Robin  as we moved to California together, a few years later. That car saw even more adventures with niece Shannon and nephews Chris and Sean. Rhonda Honda was with me when I first got married and also was around when we had our boys in the late 1980’s and into 1990. Rhonda Honda was with us until the year 2000, when I sold her for all of about $300 to a guy that had fallen on hard times and needed a car. My husband Mike and I marveled as the man drove away with Rhonda Honda, twenty years after  I bought her and she still ran like a champ! I admit, I was pretty sad as the sweet little car left our drive way. It’s amazing how attached we get to our cars, as they almost seem like a part of our family. That little car saw me go from single girl, career girl, young adventurous girl moving to California, young wife, then mom of two boys. Rhonda served us well. So, here’s to cars, sentiments and memories. Matt, I hope your little Honda Fit gives you many good years and lots of grand adventures! Make sure you give her a good name, and hopefully she too will be with you for a lot of years! Hey, you just can’t beat a Honda!