I know the foolishness of becoming attached to material objects, but I admit I got a little misty-eyed as I spent the morning cleaning up my car to sell to a new owner tonight. It wasn’t my first car, nor is it likely to be my last, but it’s been my car for almost 10 great years, and it’s hard not to feel a tinge of sadness in letting it go.

A car, after all, is a little different than most of your possessions. You have a relationship with your car from the beginning and that relationship creates an emotional response. With my car, it was always reliable day after day and driving it was fun as it had a bit more “pep” than our minivan or hybrid (and I added a few extras to make it even more fun). Your car is a constant companion and if you have a long commute, you spend a lot of time with it. You go on a lot of adventures with your car too. The very nature of a car earns it a place in your heart, for better or for worse.

I remember the day I brought the car home as easily as I remember the day we brought each of our children home for the first time. I remember where I was on the freeway when I rolled the odometer over to 100,000 miles and wondered where I’d be when I rolled it to 200,000. I remember the rude lady who put the first ding in the door (she woke me up from a nap when she did it). As I was washing, waxing and cleaning up my car for the last time, I started thinking John Legend was probably thinking about his car when he wrote the chorus of his song “All of Me”. Sorry ladies.

Yes, it’s hard to say goodbye to a car you’ve had a great relationship with for so long. But this is all part of the process of letting go of a lot of things, including people not just objects, over the next month and a half. Japan is getting close, and its definitely feeling real.