The End of an Era

We are not car people at this house. I never have been and neither has Steve. When I say that, what I mean is, we have never paid much attention to cars or worried about what kind of car we drive. In fact, when I was in college and dating, I actually found myself more attracted to someone who drove a "lesser" of a car (case in point; Steve who drove a Daihatsu Rocky) or who didn't worry about things like rims and spoilers. I guess in my mind, it doesn't make sense that a person is defined by the kind of car they drive or that someone is "cooler" than someone else because their car is "cooler." Anyway, that is one of the reasons it has never bothered me to drive a min van. In fact, the opposite is true. I have LOVED the convenience a mini van affords a growing family. They are designed to make families more comfortable when they travel! I have LOVED that! Maybe that is why Thursday was so bitter sweet for me. It was the end of an era. With all the commuting we are doing (and it doesn't look like it will end anytime soon) Steve had been toying with the idea of downsizing to a sedan for better gas mileage. I know we only have two kids, but those two kids have friends and relatives that need to be toted around from time to time, not to mention all the preschool field trips where it was packed to the brim with happy, comfortable kids. Nope, I did not like the idea of selling the van. To me it was like putting the energy out in to the universe that, no. . .we won't be having any more kids and I will never stay home and run kids to soccer or teach preschool and go on field trips. Making the decision to sell the van was really like unraveling a huge knot of unknown twist and turns about my life. When we first decided to become a VAN family, back in 2002, a lot of people raised their eyebrows. We were still a young family and only had one child with one on the way. Why would we need to "stoop so low" as to buy a van? Well, Steve was in a carpool at the time and that was our main reason for doing it, but once we did, we've never looked back. It is soooo great to slide open those side doors and have your little kiddos right there, easy access, plenty of room to change a diaper, tote all the baby and kid paraphernalia and so on. Vans are great! But, it is the end of an era for us. We are now "sedan" people again. Steve found a GREAT deal on a FSBO Honda Accord that he couldn't pass up. And, to make things even more convenient, one of the teachers at our school was looking to upgrade to a mini van and fell in love with ours. So, it was simple really. A no brainer. I had absolutely nothing to do with it. I didn't even know what the new car looked like until two days after Steve bought it (see, not concerned with cars)! But, we took our first family drive in it yesterday and I gotta say, it is pretty comfortable and really nice. Yes, there is still room to tote our two cute kids and some of their stuff. Still room enough for our new carpool which consists of only one extra adult. And, if we do become soooo blessed to have another baby, the car seat can sit snugly between my two sweet boys who can entertain him/her in our travels. Maybe it won't be so bad? We can always become van people again, someday.


One last photo in front of our Mazda MPV. My only regret is that I look like Frumposaurus Rex in this picture. And our new 2007 Honda Accord. It's the start of something new. . .