My late grandfather grew up in Midland, Western Australia, and went on to live there his whole life. He could have moved to somewhere closer to the city or closer to the beach, but he loved the suburb he grew up in and didn’t want to leave. I really admire that about him and that loyalty is something that I’ll always hold close to my heart. 

I haven’t been back to Midland since he passed away because being there reminds me too much of him. My grandpa was the person who bought me my first car, and because of that, I get a car service around Midland every year. Tomorrow is the first time I’ll have gotten my car serviced since he passed away. I think it’s going to be really hard for me to go back there, just because the suburb reminds me so strongly of my grandpa.

Today is the day that I’m making the drive to Midland. I live about an hour away from the workshop which is fine as my car is just going in for its yearly service. I don’t expect that there will be anything wrong with my car, because my grandpa instilled into me the importance of always looking after my car. I’m not one of those people that avoids getting their car fixed until they’re absolutely desperate for a brakes repair or something like that, I look after my car just like my grandad wanted. 

Being back in Midland was quite surreal. As expected, my car didn’t break down on the way there (although I did). The mechanics at the workshop were really nice and very upset when I told them that their loyal customer of many years had passed away. I promised them that I’d continue his legacy and continue getting my car serviced at his favourite workshop. They promised me that they’d continue to look after me and my car as they had looked after my grandpa’s.