I am finding this new responsibility of being thrust into the world of solitary decision making terrifying…But I am doing it and it’s okay. I would prefer to bounce all these thoughts, necessary choices and responsibilities off to Jeff, but I can’t. So as I forge ahead with my life alone, I am finding these mountains that I am climbing difficult; but in someways, I am getting better at them. I am learning to trust myself and the belief that I can make these decisions alone. That I know what is right for me…or us.

Today, I sold our car. The car that Jeff bought me for Valentine’s Day in 2006. The car Jeff died in. My little blue Toyota Matrix. It was small, safe and economical….But we had the truck for carrying larger loads and muddy dogs. I didn’t need to bring multiple children in the car very often as I wasn’t caring for anyone other than my kiddos or the occasional playdate.

But now, life is different. I am going to need to look to a future where I can bring in an income and care for my children alone. I need to be able to move objects by myself and cart various things home that would not fit in my little car.

So now, I own a minivan. I decided and made the deal myself. It was scary and I kept worrying that I was being taken advantage of….Possibly a bit paranoid. But I did it. Myself.

The kids and I quite like the van. It’s a few years older than the car thus making it more affordable. It’s clean and safe. It is blue just as my little car was…Jeff’s favorite color as Liv pointed out.

Liv had her trepidation about buying the van. She cried the first night and asked me to go get the car back because it reminded her of Daddy. I remembered crying when my dad talked of selling our little Vauxhal (a little white German car that our family had when I was a child – it`s floor was rusted out, we would watch the road go by as we drove along and we sang songs about `Daddy`s little Vauxhal`). It was certainly a different circumstance but I could empathize with her feelings of security and comfort in the car….especially after losing so much this year. But now, it is like a fort. She wants to show all her friends her new van. They ask to `play in the van`. I am loving the space and the ability to comfortably take our friends along.

So although one door has closed, another has opened. I do feel sad. I do have such fond memories of our little car that I had thought the kids would learn to drive. But I must be flexible and not hold onto things that do not provide the needs we now have just because they are a link to Jeff. This is a hard lesson to learn. But I am doing it.