Wheels

Remember all that identity crisis stuff I was going through when I traded in my Jeep Wrangler and bought the station wagon? How I felt so good that time when I was driving around in the station wagon all alone with the tunes cranked and the windows down until I remembered I was driving a station wagon and then I rolled up the windows and cried all the way home?

Well somewhere along the line I became "ok" (resigned) with the station wagon.

And then Lincoln surprised us all and suddenly with two kids under two, two car seats, a tall husband and a double stroller... that station wagon quickly became too small.

I started asking Steve if we could get a minivan. Yes, I was ASKING for one.

I talked to a few people about it and everyone was really freaked out and opposed to even the thoughts of a van. A few people even made fun of me. Everyone suggested we get a crossover or some sort of SUV. And I looked into that, I did. But I found that the smaller, more affordable SUVs had little more room than we already had in the station wagon. And the SUVs that would meet my needs were huge and since neither Steve nor myself are high level drug lords, they weren't something we could afford.

It took a little convincing to get Steve to agree to the minivan. But with the back seat full of car seats - Lincoln's being rear facing - the front passenger seat had to be pushed all the way forward. And any time we went somewhere and Steve had himself a few cold ones, he found himself riding in the passenger seat. At 6'2" his knee caps were almost touching the windshield.

And so we headed out this weekend minivan shopping - which incidentally I don't recommend with two very young children because although I thought any salesman would take pity on us and give us a smoking deal, the fact is that by the time I found what I wanted I would have agreed to any deal - good, bad or otherwise - because I was so on edge waiting for the next meltdown, tantrum or feeding session.

Anyway, after a full day in and out of dealerships and test driving and signing and signing and signing paper after paper. This bad boy now resides in my driveway...

You know? I love it. I feel none of the ego busting self pity that I felt with the station wagon. In fact I feel even better now than I did driving the station wagon. Maybe it's the black on black. Or the sweet stereo for me to listen to my loud, raucous music. Or the feeling of being up high when I'm driving. Or maybe it's just the relief of not having to drive home from the grocery store with my groceries piled on my lap.

Or maybe I've just arrived at the point in my life where I don't give a fuck what other people think and I'm just happy to have something we all fit comfortably in.

Also it's nearly brand spanking new which is a bonus.

Whatever it is, I like it. I'm cool with it.

And I'm dying to go on a road trip.