Hilda has a minion!

Lynn the 8L08-K1tt3h

I think I was only about 12 years old the first time I saw her. She was a few years old already, and Grandma had purchased her from a rental company that went under and was selling all of their cars. I didn't think much of it. In my derpy 12-year-old mind, it never occurred me that I might end up driving that car someday.

In the summer of 2003, Grandma passed away. Grandpa started driving the car for long distance trips, like when he needed to go out of town for medical exams.

As time went on, Grandpa stopped driving her, and she ended up sitting in his garage for nearly a decade. He preferred his older car. Someone would drive her on occasion, just to make sure she was still running properly and got the maintenance she needed. I still didn't think much of it. I guess she just reminded Grandpa too much of Grandma for him to keep driving her.

In the summer of 2013, Grandpa got diagnosed with cancer.
In the years that followed, while enduring numerous rounds of chemo, he began writing his will, and distributing his property to his offspring and descendents.

As his oldest grandchild, he decided to gift the car to me. He had thought about selling her. I'm not sure why he didn't. Maybe he just wanted to pass her along since she had belonged to Grandma, and felt better giving her to someone who would appreciate her. I'm an adult now, and had been struggling to get to and from work or school, so I was grateful, and began to drive her right away.

It took me some time to get used to her. She's an older car, after all. There are certain modern features that she doesn't have. Her suspension is a little bit funky. She has this ridiculous after-market alarm system that is way too sensitive and cycles through four different noises when tripped. (The neighborhood children can't even play nearby too loudly without setting off that frickin' alarm!) But she was my car and I came to love her very much.

In early 2016, Grandpa passed away.

That was a hard year. I'm sure I lost count of the number of times I'd come home and just sit in my car crying. I cried there more than anyone else. Probably because no one else could hear me, but I also think there was something comforting about being in the car that had once belonged to my grandparents.

One day, on my way to a new job, she was struggling to get up a steep hill. I'm not sure why, but I started patting her steering wheel with one hand, and I said, "Come on, Hilda! You can do it!"

I guess that's how Hilda got her name. It just happened one day. It's short for Hildegarde, which was a name that I remember my Grandma had once liked.
Grandma had really liked norse mythology and nordic history, and it just so happened that Grandpa was of nordic descent.
I think her name really ties everything that I love about her together.

Hilda hasn't had an easy life with me.

Sometime in 2018, some JERK failed to turn around in the cul-de-sac at a small enough radius and crunched in the corner of Hilda's trunk and bumper. I'm thankful that no one was inside Hilda when she got hit, and that the damage was only cosmetic. A few inches closer to the front would have busted an axle and totaled her, which would have devastated me.

Look at this!!!! I'm still mad that the &@!%#& who did this to her got away!!
Just to add to Hilda's Adventures, not even a few months later, the freaking tree that I usually kept Hilda parked under decided to eject one of its branches.... directly onto Hilda.


WHAT DID THAT TREE HAVE AGAINST MY CAR?!?!?!
What happened was that the tree was so healthy that it was putting out tons and tons of leaves, and the leaves became too heavy for that particular section of the tree to hold. Thankfully, all of those lush and healthy leaves provided some excellent cushioning, and Hilda came out from under the branch with little more than some scratches, a few shallow dents, and a whole bunch of twigs in her windshield whipper blades. My Dad was able to fix her up and now she looks good as new! (My jerk sister tried to joke that "Grandma wants her car back!!!", I swear it was like the universe was using poor Hilda for target practice that year.)

She's still an old car with some silly quirks (I will be forever entertained by her overly-sensitive alarm system) but she's mine, and I love her so much.

She was my first car, after all.

And also.... she was the last gift I ever received from my grandparents.

I miss them every day.

Thank you for my Hilda, Grandma and Grandpa.
I love you.


Credits:
Story written by Yuzu & dedicated to my beloved late grandparents, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Lynn.

Thank you to Selene for adopting Hilda to me!!
I will cherish her! ♥

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Pet overlay by Yuzu.
Photographs property of Yuzu.