Happy birthday Mom

Early on in the school year, I was leaving one of the school buildings at work and I spotted this green New Beetle in the parking. Not just any green, but the original "Atomic Green" color. Why is this significant and why are I bringing this up now?

The reason that an Atomic Green New Beetle means much to me is that it reminds me of my mother. No, mom never owned an Atomic Green New Beetle. Let me fill you in on a story about mom. 

As my brother and I became teenagers, we both became avid 'car guys'. With two car crazy sons and a husband who enjoyed cars, Mom was surrounded by car talk. She was always a good sport and even took the opportunity to learn more about this fascination that the men in her life were into. Seeing as both my brother and I were big VW fans, she learned a lot about these humble German cars.

When VW first debuted the New Beetle, essentially a Golf with a different body, Mom shared that she liked the car. She liked the nostalgic look. Of course she would own one because she was too practical: she insisted that she needed a four door car for her car. She would go on later to buy another nostalgic inspired new car: a dark blue Chrysler PT Cruiser. Not my pick, but it was great to see her doing something for herself.

One day I was out and about with Mom. We drove by a VW dealership and Mom pointed out the line up of New Beetles on the lot. I mentioned that if I were to get one, I'd like to have one in light blue, to match my Diamond Blue '69 Bug. She agreed that would be fun and she mentioned that if she were to get a New Beetle, her favorite was the avocaod green color. As a side note, I later checked with a sales brochure I had picked up at the dealership and discovered the color she was talking about was "Atomic Green". After that day, whenever I saw an Atomic Green New Beetle, I think about my Mom and how that should have been her car.

Today would have Mom's 76th birthday. In spite of her passing over 16 years ago, I still think of her everyday, and every time I see an Atomic Green New Beetle. Happy birthday Mom. You are still missed.