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Friday, December 29, 2006

A New Era

I have a 2000 Honda CRV that I love dearly. It's my first car. It's also green, which is my favorite color, and it has a standard transmission. Whenever I see my car in a parking lot, it makes me happy that it's mine. However, I have to admit that ever since my younger son (YS) was born, I haven't experienced that same thrill that I once had when getting into my car. In fact many times I feel pretty frustrated. Now that there are two carseats in there, the seats take up almost the entire backseat. Sure, the backseat technically seats 3 people, but with the carseats, all that can fit between them is a blanket and a couple of books. On top of that, there's something wrong with the seatbelts. Honda even replaced them for me for free, and although they say they're fine, there seems to be some sort of delay when they retract. I bring mycarseats into a free checkpoint at the hospital near us about every 6 months and every time I am told that some part of a carseat has come unlocked (no not unclipped, but unlocked!).

I should also mention that I always keep the stroller in the rear storage area, because I use it at least 5 times a week. We also have a large golden retriever and two cats who need to be taken to the vet occasionally. Not to mention carpools, visiting relatives (since both of our families live out of state), etc. With all of this in mind, we came to a horrible horrible realization: it's time to start considering a minivan.

I have to admit I was pretty terrified when we went to test drive our first minivan today. In my youth, I learned how to drive on a Plymouth Voyager, and I have very distinct memories of feeling like I was driving an out-of-control boat. I was pleasantly surprised today by how easy the first minivan was to drive. I hate to say it, but it was actually easier to drive than my CRV, although I think I would have to have a good couple of months of experience with it before I would even think about parallel parking. The second minivan we drove was nice, but it had a little bit of that boat-like feel to it. Tomorrow we're going to test drive two more. We're aiming to purchase one sometime this spring. I am coming to the end of my free-wheeling days of sporting an SUV and transitioning into, if not soccer mom-hood, at least swimmer mom-hood with a minivan.

A. Elliot's Lesson Learned: Different times call for different measures.

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posted by Alex Elliot @ 11:06 PM   2 comments
2 Comments:

  • At 12/30/2006 1:38 PM, Blogger Linus said…

    I hear ya with the carseats taking up almost the entire backseat. I drive a 1998 Cherokee (I am a Jeep fanatic!) and that middle bench seat doesn't fit a third person with the two carseats on either side. Personally, I think that's a good thing - it keeps me from having a third child!

    I am one of those people who has vowed never to get a minivan. My mom had one and I never liked it. My husband is a car enthusiast and is totally against driving one as well. So if we ever felt the need for more space - I think we'd go wagon.

    For now, I'm happy with my Jeep and plan on being that way until my Jeep is no longer with us :)

     

  • At 12/30/2006 6:26 PM, Blogger Suzanne said…

    Such is life, right? I'm sure you will be the swingest mom with a mini van! And your description of driving the Plymouth Voyager is hilarious.

     
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Name:Alex Elliot
Home:MA, United States
About Me:Professional Mom of two cats, a dog, an ant farm, and oh yeah...two boys: a 6 year old and a 3 year old. Also found in my house is my husband who is known on this blog as The Big Giraffe.
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For those of us who didn't get an instruction manual with our babies and for whom parenting hasn't always gone as planned. On a more serious note this blog is about supporting a woman's ability to make her own choices about parenting including the choice, for whatever reason, to bottle feed her babies formula.

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