Soccer Mom??

We just bought a minivan!! What the hell?! When did a morph into a minivan-buying, “I want more room” mom? I remember a time, not all that long ago, that I was making out in the back seat of a minivan with a guy who borrowed his parents’ minivan to come and take me out on a date. Rather than going any where on our date, we sat in my driveway and made out for, like, 3 hours or something crazy like that!

How did I get from being a teenager in the back seat of a minivan to a mom who can’t wait to drive one with her kids in the backseat? OK, sure, I really wanted it because what mother wants to listen to her kid cry for an hour while on a road trip? It isn’t like you can convince an infant not to cry. Right? (If I am wrong about this I would love to know your secrets!)
Ok, imagine this: You are in your Hyundai Santa Fe with your adoring husband who is always too happy to drive (because your driving tends to make him sick). You are sitting in the passenger seat with a little 10 pound Yorkie in your lap. (Heaven forbid you don’t take him anywhere – that is why you go the little dog, right?) You have a four-year-old in the back seat, kicking the back of your brand new “what-the-hell-were-you-thinking-car-buying-tan-interior” driver’s seat (who also gets carsick by the way) and the baby is facing the rear of the car as the law says and hates being strapped in his car seat. You are driving along, kids are sleeping, and the back is full. You and your husband are having a pleasant conversation about how long it will take you to get to your parent’s house (9 HOURS!) and what you will be doing once you get there (up for at least 24 hours because your kids slept most of the way). All of a sudden you hear the paci drop in the backseat. You know it is a matter of minutes before the wailing.

Do you:
A) give the dog to your husband, unbelt (uh, oh breaking the law already), and lean over the seat to use the mirror to figure out where the paci is in correlation to the baby’s mouth
B) crawl into the backseat and wedge your hips in between the two car seats to help baby feel better because then he can see your face (*disclaimer* if you pick this one – you did not read my first post on this blog)
C) listen to the baby cry until you want to either pull out your hair, cry yourself to sleep, or jump out of the said moving SUV
D) get a minivan so you have a third row of seats so if A doesn’t work you can go on with B in some way.

We chose D. We all know I am not the first mom to succumb to the horror of a minivan. Heehee, my best friend succumbed first! But I did succumb. The ease of having two doors that open, that my four-year-old cannot smash into the car next to us no less, will be helpful not to mention if we have company – we don’t have to take two vehicles just because there is one or two extra people. Unless of course it is my in-laws, then I foresee way too much stuff in the back that it would be inconvenient to move just for one trip across town to that pizza shop that I am totally NOT going to eat in, just pick at my food because I am losing weight!

My journey into adulthood is complete…I have gone from a teenager making out in the back of the van to Soccer Mom in as little as 10 (ok…maybe 15) years.

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." ~ Lao Tsu