Sam Is Driving

Sam turned 16 in July, but the hunt for a truck started a year ago. This market made it impossible to find one in the right shape, right miles, and right price range.

A couple weeks ago, a private seller ad popped up on Auto Trader. It already had more than 100 views which signaled to me it was probably sold. But I had to try. A 2006 Ford F-150xl 4X4 with only 85,000 miles was a needle in a haystack. You could tell the owner was a hunter and had cared for this truck.

It appeared perfect.

And then the story gets bittersweet.

The owner called me to tell me the truck was still available. She gave me as much of the technical details and answered questions I asked. I mentioned it was for my son, for his first truck, who loved to hunt.

The phone was quiet. She said, “My son bought it from the original owner in 2010 and it was his pride and joy. He died in 2013 and we’ve kept it close as a connection to him ever since.”

I didn’t know what to say other than I couldn’t imagine the pain she had went through and I was so sorry.

We met the couple to see the truck and test drive. It was perfect. When we came back and visited, I shared the loss we experienced with Sam’s dad and how bittersweet these rights of passage are without him.

Then, they mentioned their son’s name… Michael.

There were tears.

It’s been a while since we’ve had one of those moments that felt like a divine connection. Although they shared it was time to let the truck go, it was obvious the joy it gave them to hand the keys to a young man who is planning his future hunting trips and must be as proud to call it his own as their son did.

When we made the sale and picked it up Friday night, Ruchella had so thoughtfully placed the keys on a keychain that said, “Don’t drive faster than your guardian Angel can fly,” with a small wing attached. Then, they told us about their Mikey Moments when he leaves pennies for them to find.
They’d cleaned the truck out to show us the first time. I specifically looked in the center console when inspecting and it was empty. I had pushed it up so three of us could go on the test drive. When she pulled the console down to bring it to us, something made a noise … there was a single penny. Wow, again. Sam plans to keep it in the truck along with the keychain.

I’m just so thankful of being assured in so many ways this was the truck that was meant to be. The bonus is we have some dear new friends that share our journey of grief as well as the resilience to continue to live well and carry those dear souls we love in our hearts.

Thank you SO much Tim and Ruchella for sharing your hearts and your son. I think our Michaels made this one happen.