Rite of Passage

I did it.

I finally became "that" mom.

I am a mini-van owner.

It was long overdue. My other car, God rest her soul, had been dying a very slow painful death. The car had been my sister's, she passed it on to my dad, who passed it on to me so she's been in the family for a long time. "Bertha" as I lovingly call her has 249K miles on her. She has a whole laundry list of issues. Recently, she had started playing this fun game of "how-many-times-can-I-stop-on-the-way-to-work." Our average was 6, keep in mind, it is a seven mile trip. Occasionally, Bertha would emit smoke from the steering wheel. Not like an I'm-on-fire smoke, but more of an a-little-more-of my-electrical-system-just-gave-out smoke. I always had visions of the air bag deploying whenever that would happen. She had an enduring squeak whenever the driver side door would open. I would just smile at passer-bys and shout "I'm bringing sexy back." She served me well, but it was just time for her to rest.

And now I'm big pimpin' in my mini.

I used to be one of those people who swore I would never ever drive a mini-van. For goodness sakes, they make SUVs to haul around children. After having one SUV with our kids and realizing that it's really just a car with a bigger trunk, I knew there was only one solution. So I swallowed my pride and opted for the mini.




I think all moms end up joining the mini cult after a period of time. It's just inevitable. Kids, no matter how small they are, take up a lot of space. And they kick. And they fight with each other. Having a mini makes puts them far enough away from the driver and other passengers, that trips across town become enjoyable again. You begin to see other drivers. You don't miss as many turns. You actually notice that your blinker has been on for the last 2 miles.

Call me what you like, I'll be rockin' to Ani DiFranco in my new mini-van and holding my head high!