Change is the Only Constant

As you saw in my last post I recently bought a Suburban for hauling the family on our outdoor adventuring. Well, today was the day that the Land Cruiser met it's new owner. If I had the resources to keep it, I would have, but when it comes down to it, letting go is healthy.

For me changing cars is a big deal psychologically. In my mind it's all tangled up with the life that I lead while it was a part of my life. It was especially hard this time because drooling over 80 series Land Cruisers was a part of my adolescence during the time when those cars were new. Any other car I would probably have replaced long ago, but I always decided to fix rather than replace. Over and over. To the point that I earned a few snickers from unbelievers. I bore the snickers with pleasure.

But time marches on. Family needs change and cars get old. I was planning on getting another year out of it at least, but then the siren song of Craigslist found me the Suburban ahead of schedule.

It worked to my advantage, though. Since I was planning on having it for a while longer, I had just put some new parts on it and it was running GREAT. I mean, in some ways it was running better than when I bought it in 2007. (Of course, there were some other ways that it was wearing down, too.) That translated into me selling it for more than I thought. Would you believe I sold it for only $700 less than I bought it for? 10-1/2 years later.

But now I've picked another vehicle that is unique. My Suburban is a 2500, which they don't make anymore. I'll keep it going.

So this is just another change in a growing list of changes that we've been through in the last year. We sold our house, said goodbye to a pet and close friend, and now this. There have been other changes, but by far these are the biggest. I was thinking about this the other day. The Empress Court chapter was a crucial chapter in our lives.

In January 2014 I wrote the blog post, "The Good Old Days" where I said I would likely look back on that time in my life as the good old days. Right now I feel like I'm standing at the beginning of the next chapter, looking back. Those three big changes I mentioned all started close to the same time. We bought the Land Cruiser in September 2007. Then Jake came along in August 2008. Finally in October 2009 we bought the Empress Ct house.

In about two years our life transitioned from a student/newlywed situation into an early career couple looking to build a life. It was in that house and we stayed for a little over eight years. Now, within seven months we've transitioned out of it. We're wondering when we're going to buy our second house and we're in the throes of young child rearing. (sometimes I think "throws" would be more accurate.) 

Of course, that will always be the house where our family came together. It was a hard decision to leave it, but I feel it was right. It's the same with the Land Cruiser. The time is right but change always takes some getting used to. Even good change.