Some of my friends and family are shocked and appalled. Well, appalled might be a strong word. But shocked certainly isn’t. One of my coworkers didn’t believe that it was really my car. I still haven’t really adjusted. But I really love it.
Five years ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead owning a minivan. If asked I would have adamantly sworn that I would NEVER own a minivan and vehemently cursed you for suggesting it. A minivan was just not who I was. Five years ago, I wasn’t sure I wanted kids. Though I figured I would have one later. And I didn’t really want more than one. Three years ago when I bought my Nissan Versa, I was pregnant with Evie but wasn’t planning on having more kids anytime soon. Now I can comfortably seat five kids without pushing the “no kids in the front seat” rule. Not that I’m planning on having more kids. But I’m sure my two kids will eventually have friends. At least I HOPE they do.
Since Elly came along, I have felt really cramped in my car. The Nissan Versa is a great car. Good gas mileage, fun to drive and enough room for a small family. Four isn’t that small though. And in most vehicles, four is all you can fit, especially when two of those have to sit in car seats. And will be in some form of car seat for most of the next decade. My children will be in elementary school, if not middle school, before they are tall enough and weigh enough to ride in a seat without a booster.
When we took the girls to the beach this summer the car was ridiculously full. The back was packed, the back floorboard was packed, in between the girls’ seats was packed. The car was at capacity. And we had to send some of the bigger stuff, like Evie’s pack and play and our double stroller, down in my in-laws’ Explorer because there wasn’t enough room. Well, that will not be a problem again!
I don’t know when I got so seriously bitten with the minivan bug. I remember thinking at Evie’s party that I wished I had one. But ever since Elly came along I have wished I had a bigger vehicle. Travelling with just one baby was pretty difficult. And travelling with two is certainly no picnic. But in the last six months, it has been not the occasional tasks which have been so frustrating and difficult with two but instead the regular, routine things. You expect vacations to be a bit of a hassle with small children. But grocery shopping? You shouldn’t have to take two cars to have a family shopping trip! It shouldn’t require major space allocation and planning to take a family zoo trip. You should be able to pack your bags, load up the car, and go!
So since our zoo trip last spring I have wished we had one. Since the beach trip I’ve been really wanted one. Since Evie’s birthday I’ve been trying to figure out how to get one. A couple of months ago, my husband said that if we paid off some of our debt so that we could afford a van and I wanted to trade my Versa in for one, that I could. Last week, I paid off the credit card and made a big car payment with the remainder of the tax refund. So he said I could get a minivan!
I already knew what I wanted. I absolutely love Nissans and the Quest is a great van. Lots of good options, some great safety features, etc. So I started looking at Quests. And when I found one in Mount Airy, my husband said we could go test drive it. But when they offered me what I wanted for my car and brought the price down on the van…well, we got it!
So now I’m a minivan mom. And I’m going to be honest. I love it! I have twice as much room as I did in my Versa. Plus a built in DVD and automatic doors. Wireless headphones for the girls so they can watch movies while I listen to something OTHER than Dora the Explorer. Our most recent grocery trip went fabulously. I’m really looking forward to our next trip. I can’t wait to go to the zoo again this year and if Elly would ever start walking we’re going to start doing more trips to the park and the library and other neat things around our area. I just can’t handle TOTING my 23 lb baby and my 28 lb preschooler. Because of course, if Elly is being carried then Evie has to be carried as well.
It’s going to be so great!
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