Sometimes feelings creep up on you and you didn’t even have a clue they would be there. I experienced this tonight as I watch my truck of almost nine years drive away under the ownership of someone else.

I bought my F150 in 2000. I wasn’t really ready to buy one yet, but I was just beginning to check out what was on the market. I had a checklist of everything I wanted in a truck: long bed, tow package, V8, cruise control, power everything, etc. During lunch one day I pulled into Pierson Ford’s used car lot and there it was. Everything I wanted and more.

I know you aren’t supposed to get attached to possessions, but this truck and I had been together for quite some time. Countless family trips to the desert. Moving friends more times than I can count. A very special trip to the Grand Canyon with just Amanda and I. There were memories in that truck.

So, when this stranger–a nice stranger with real cash money–got into MY truck and drove it away, it was harder than I thought.

Everything has got to go eventually. My F150 went to a dad who was helping his daughter buy her first truck. When he told her on the phone that he had purchased it, she screamed with delight. Knowing that makes it easier.