Tim and I have been having car trouble so my parents graciously let us borrow their car for a few weeks. For the first few days I drove mindlessly around just moving from point A to point B. But about the third day I was sitting in the car waiting for Caleb to get out of Church School and I opened the middle console.
A flood of memories and emotions filled my heart. There in the middle console I saw all the things my Dad has always carried with him on road trips and in his cars. I was so surprised at how an old Willie Nelson gospel CD could jog so many of my childhood memories...driving across country, seeing the grand canyon, the red wood forest, stopping at every historical marker in sight, getting in trouble for not eating my cantaloupe, picnics at rest stops with peanut butter and lays potato chips (mom's favorite), all three of us kids playing in the back seat, reading Little House on the Prairie on the road...
Here are a few things Dad had in his middle console that brought back so many memories:
matches
a fire extinguisher
a chewed on cigar
3 flat pocket knives
dental floss
hydro cortisone cream
8 blue sanford micro pens
5 notepads all scribbled on
a tire gauge
a cigar cutter
multiple screwdrivers
old random sized light bulbs
multiple unmarked keys
white, round, unmarked chap stick (the same brand and smell as always)
a measuring tape
the Academy of Engineering Business Cards
(and if Mom would still allow it) I am sure he would have a whole pile of Masters Five tapes that we all had memorized after hours and hours of listening!
I love my father for all of these little things, but mostly I just love my father!
Thanks for the memories you middle console!
What an amazing post... you have always seemed to take the most ordinary things out of life to tell its story so beautifully. I have been thinking about my father alot lately as well and thanks for reminding me that I can hold to the memories... you are a dear friend.
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