The Caddy

“Douglas Allen Kirkendoll, you did not!” I can still hear my mom scream to this day. I remember the fury in her eyes when my dad came home in a brand new 2017 Cadillac XTS. She practically had steam coming out of her ears while my dad got out of the car with the biggest smile on his face and said, “Hannah there’s a speedometer on the windshield!” Thinking back I couldn’t understand why my mom was so mad, and I honestly still can’t. Afterall, there is a speedometer on the windshield and it automatically locks behind you, how awesome? After that day, my dad took me for a “spin” at least once a day for the next two weeks. I can still remember the gigantic, dorky smile he got when he started the car, clear as day. 

It is bittersweet that I now own a 2017 Cadillac XTS, but it still brings me the same big, dorky smile when I see the speedometer on the windshield. The Caddy, although she isn’t brand new anymore, her wear and tear holds great memories. For example, the left mirror is cracked from my mom trying to tell me the mirrors can bend, when they couldn’t. The back of the headrest is broken off from my nephew pulling on it after I told him he wasn’t strong enough to break it. 

The other day, my mom asked me if I wanted the small scratch on the driver's door fixed. I almost said yes, but then remembered why it was there. After a bad day at school, my dad told me to hop in the car and went to buy me the most expense lottery scratcher there was. We scratched the $70 lottery ticket with no expectations. When we saw we won $100, we didn’t believe it and triple checked our numbers. When the realization hit that we won, my dad jumped out of the car so fast that he slammed the door against the gas pump. We were so excited we didn’t even stop to look at the car. It was only a week later we realized the consequences of our excitement. 

The Cadillac has seen more emotions from me than anyone I’ve ever known. The Caddy has seen pure joy during carpool karaoke on the way to waffle house late at night. The Caddy has seen anger after an annoying day at work. The Caddy has seen relief when I am finally done with a long school day. The Caddy has seen excitement going to new places. The Caddy has seen grief and overwhelming sadness. Most importantly, the Caddy has seen happiness and hope. I never thought a car could see so much of me, but he has.

I used to always think the sappy commercials of people buying new cars were dumb. How could someone be so attached to a car, you only drive in it? Cars used to drive to dreaded places everyday like work and school.  Why wouldn’t you feel like this about your house instead? It was only after I experienced great beauty, excitement, pain, joy, and so much more all in that Silver Cadillac XTS with a speedometer on a windshield that I could finally sympathize with the sappy commercials. Most of the time when we are describing something we love, we are talking about family, friends, activities, and loved ones. It is not often people have a strong bond with an inanimate object such as a car. While the Caddy may be just a car, it is a car with many cherished memories that I will hold onto forever.