The Adventures of Hofman: #4 Janie and the 100K

Friday was a historic day for me. As of September 2, 2016, I have put over 100,000 miles on my 1999 Honda Civic. (Yes, those of you who haven't seen me in a while, I'm still driving that same car.) I understand that this isn't normal. With the help of a loan from my parents, I picked up a used car in April 2007, two months after getting my drivers' license, and that car is still going strong. When I think of my Civic, I must confess that God has been good to me.

Janie, my Civic, is old enough to be a high school senior. She's been a part of my life for nearly ten years, which is longer than I've known Tess. Clearly I'm much closer to Tess, but still, 2007 was a while ago. Janie and I have a lot of memories. Some of the best conversations I've had with a lot of my closest friends have taken place in my car. Janie was there the night of the great 2008 Waupun flood when I was worried she was going to be washed off the flooded road. I remember packing up my Civic to head off to college and have a heart-to-heart with Molly as we drove down to Trin. Tess and I had our first kiss in my car late in the fall of 2009. I was driving Janie when I got pulled over for having too many passengers--six girls!--in my car as a college freshman, and I dug Janie out after the Snowpocalypse of early 2011. My Civic was my companion when I fought sleep on the way back from visiting Tess in the summers during college, and I remember chatting with my dad as I drove the Civic over to Sheboygan Falls on my wedding day. Janie came with me to seminary in Michigan, trekked out to Washington and back with me last summer, and now is settling into her Iowa plates, the third set she's had since I got her. There have been times where Janie felt like my girlfriend or my child, and it looks like I'll still be driving her when I bring my first child back from the hospital. Janie might only be an inanimate object, but I think at this point owning a green Civic has become part of my self-identity. I can't begin to count the number of jam sessions Janie and I have had. At this point Janie is rolling towards old age. I'm not sure how much longer we'll be together, but I'm pretty confident at this point that she'll never have another owner, and I bet I'll bawl like a baby when Janie finally does call it quits. But for now, this post is for you, Janie. You're the best car a guy could ever have.