Ode to my little Xavier

Our relationship officially began in January of 2005, but our first meeting happened long before then. Her previous owners left her with us the summer of 2003 while they were in Brazil, and I got to pretend for a month that she was all mine. A year and a half later, when her owners decided to move to Brazil permanently, they called and offered me an incredible deal on her, knowing how much I had loved her. She was my first, very own car, and the first significant purchase I ever made. I had never-- and still have never-- written a check for that much money, but she was worth every penny.

It may sound silly for me to say how much I loved Xavier, but we've been through a lot together. She has heard many a conversation, some serious, some silly, some tearful, but providing comfortable seating for those conversations nonetheless. She patiently tolerated my incessant overplay of favorite songs, often allowing me to push her "repeat" button and literally listen to the same music for hours. Xavier had the road from Edmond to Abilene memorized, having traveled it with me so often, and she accompanied Steven, Heather, Alex and I to the lake in Tulsa one weekend for the best weekend of our lives. On the way home, when we were passing another car on the side of the road, a rock flew up and punctured her face, leaving a deep, acne-like gouge in the center of the windshield. Despite my tears, she shed none, and took it like a champ, enduring the repair process without any complaints.

Together we even endured the embarrassment of my first (and only) speeding ticket, less than a week after she had become mine. (Can you blame me for going 83 mph on the way to Abilene to show her off? Me neither.) Although Texas State Highway Patrol officer Xavier Perez is her namesake, sweet little Xavier the XTerra protected me from ever receiving a ticket again. We were a good team, Xavier and I.

This morning as I watched her drive away with her new owner in the rearview mirror, my eyes got a bit watery. Ok, a lot watery. (It's okay, my Mom's were too.) It's suitable that Xavier is returning to Abilene, where she has lived for the last two and a half years. We've had a good couple years together, and I know she'll continue to see many adventures. Take care of her, Abilene.