Oh, those were the days. My husband and I were career people, working hard, making money, spending money, treating ourselves, and not having much of a worry. We could go out to dinner without fail. We could stay out past 10 o’clock. We could eat at some of the nicest restaurants and enjoy a cocktail beforehand. We could travel, take cruises, mini-vacations to the beach. We could rent boats for the day on Lake Jocassee and just relax. Yes, indeed, those were the days, but the days of what?

Last night, I found myself reminiscing about the days “pre-babies.” I couldn’t help myself, especially considering the car I was driving…an Infiniti G37x, 2013 model no less. Nice leather interior, beautiful, bright red exterior. This car is AWD with a 3.7 liter, 24 valve v-6 engine. It has 328 hp at 7000 rpm and an electronically controlled 7-speed automatic with ADS. It’s a dream to drive and felt much like driving my 2009 Mercedes C300 I owned before Davey. Thanks to my husband’s job and all of his travel, he’s able to get rental cars on a weekly basis. Some of the time I’m not too impressed, but last night as he pulled into my parent’s driveway and I saw this beauty, I had to toss him the keys to my 2011 Chevy Equinox and take control of the Infiniti. That’s when the reminiscing began.

Quite a few years ago, I wrote a blog entitled “From Maggie to Eloise, with much Trepidation”. Maggie was my Mercedes. I loved her, everything about her, and it was a HUGE sacrifice for me to trade her in for a more economical, family type car when I was pregnant. I shed a few tears over losing Maggie, but in the end I also knew I would be gaining something more precious…my son and time with him. Last night, I felt like I was given a little extra gold star for my sacrifices by having the opportunity to drive something more than a “mom” car.

As I started the engine and opened the sunroof, I found myself back in the days of that summer…2010. I backed out of the driveway, put the car in drive and had a rush of excitement as I slowly put my foot on the gas pedal and was pummeled back into my seat with the sheer power. I turned on the radio and Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” came on. I cranked it up, made a left onto the road and was immediately transported back in time.

It’s amazing what a car and a song can do for a memory. Maybe I put too much stock in my cars. Maybe I’m pathetic for wanting to reminisce about the days PD (pre-Davey). It’s only a car. I’m well aware of this and I wouldn’t trade a second of the last 25 months for a car, but for those 30 minutes on the drive home last night, it certainly was nice to pretend that I was once again “footloose and fancy free”.