Minivans

We recently traded in our mid-size SUV for a Minivan. This was a decision that was harder to make than when to start a family or how much we should be putting into the 401K. We agonized over the fact that we truly needed a more functional vehicle for almost a year. Our neighbors purchased one and raved about how easy it was to get the kids in and out and how much stuff they could take on trips. We still resisted and traded in a truck for a wagon. A wagon wouldn't be as bad as a minivan. One random Saturday we stopped by Carmax to check out minivans (just because) and had anxiety attacks while just sitting in them. We resigned ourselves to being SUV people - no matter how convienent a minivan may be or how high gas prices were going to go.

The deciding moment..... Garrett ran away from me in a parking lot while I was trying to get my keys out of my purse. I freaked! Hudson, of course, stayed right by the car and didn't move. Garrett is our runner. Once I got everyone in the car and took a deep breath, I called Mark and informed him that we would be buying a minivan that day. And so we did. And guess what... we love it!!! I can open the doors with my remote. The boys can climb in the van and into their seats all by themselves. It gets great gas mileage and it doesn't look as bad as we thought it would. We now understand why families have them - they just make sense.

I had been living with minivan bliss since we purchased it until my boss rode with my to get lunch the other day. Half way to lunch, he proceeded to explain why he hated minivans. I was a bit caught off guard considering his children are grown and have kids of their own so he isn't carting them around anymore. His son even has a minivan and frankly what business is it of his what kind of car other people drive. I'm sure that his ENORMOUS SUV sets him back each month 3x what our minivan does (let's not bring up the fact that his income is 10x ours). I was perplexed for the rest of the day and perturbed all week by this. As of today, i've decided to just let it go. For those who insist on driving large SUVs because they wouldn't be caught dead in minivan, so be it. Who am I to judge those with gas gussling, hard to get in and out of vehicles. I like my van. Even if it screams soccer mom with many children.