a trip down memory lane.

i've always heard that scents have the ability to bring you right back to a certain place in time, the memories rushing in like it was yesterday. but for me, it's not scents that flood my mind with memories; it's cars.

whenever i see a blue ford ranger pickup truck, i think of my high school crush. i think of the time we went to the movies, and on the way home got so engrossed in conversation, we completely missed our exit and ended up in the middle of nowhere. we laughed about it, and though there had been sparks on my end for awhile, as i looked at him across the truck that rainy saturday night, i felt sparks from him for the first time.

a blue toyota camry brings back the memory of my first date with my college sweetheart. he picked me up and took me to the one unique restaurant in fargo that played live music during dinner. it was the first time i remember feeling like a true adult. before him, my life was all about keggers, frat parties and dates at the closest chain restaurant. after dinner, as we drove to the grocery store to get ice cream for dessert, i made fun of him for having north dakota plates, and joked that i may have to duck and hide in order to save my reputation. he looked at me, laughed, and tousled my hair. though i've never believed in love at first sight, i started falling hard for him right then and there, in that old camry.

there's bittersweet emotion every time i see a grey saturn vue, as i remember how my fiance's looked in his parking lot, as i drove away after breaking his heart. lincoln continentals make me cringe, as i remember how many times i watched one screech away in anger after yet another fight. i'll always look at an '88 plymouth voyager minivan with great affection and humor, as i had the pleasure of driving one throughout high school. black honda civics make me hopeful that perhaps my long-distance friend has made a surprise appearance in the city, and beige luminas bring me back to the day my best friend picked me up 30 minutes after getting her drivers license, how we drove around our neighborhood and screamed with happiness at being all on our own for the first time.

good, bad and ugly memories, but none i regret. none i would ever take back.

(the rearview mirror has rendered itself useless on my trip down memory lane.)