My wife bought a new car today. And it made us both feel a little nostalgic.

Because for an American, a car is never just a car. It’s part of our national psyche to be on the move, exploring, opening up new vistas.

It’s no wonder that while the car was not invented here, it was an American who produced the first car that was accessible to the masses, and it hardly seems possible that the Model T was only invented 112 years ago, so much has the mass ownership of cars taken over our thinking and the car has become emblematic of American freedom and our propensity to go solo.

So my wife took pictures of the old car, now 17 years old, and starting to show its age, because that car has gone over huge swaths of the eastern US, and seen and transported children and grandchildren and friends and many others, and it’s been a part of our lives. She has a new car now, and that new vehicle, complete with innovations that were not even imagined with the other one was built in 2003, now becomes part of a new set of memories.

So like houses and jobs and familiar paths, your car is a useful tool, but so much more. Enjoy the journey.