When I was 8 or 9 years old I was in a community theater production of A Christmas Carol. I don't quite know why my parents let me do this, since the theater was quite a ways from our house and I remember going to quite a few rehearsals. Maybe they had visions of my Future Stardom? But I don't even think I had lines. Anyway, it was fun, and one of the best parts was having my dad all to myself while he drove me there and back.
My family had a gigando van and a small station wagon. My dad drove me to rehearsals in the station wagon, which was a treat, and he often took me to a fast food restaurant for lunch, which was an even bigger treat. One day my dad picked me up and told me there was a surprise waiting at home. A SURPRISE! I'm sure I badgered him about it all the way there, but he wouldn't give me a hint. Finally, when we got home and the garage door opened, there was a new car inside. Our old white van with the red stripe (people called it The Ambulance) was gone and in its place was a new-to-us Ford van, just as hulking as the old one, but blue and much newer and better looking than the white van.
I cried.
It wasn't that I loved the white van. I mean, even at 8 or 9 I knew it was the farthest thing from a Sweet Ride. But the white van was our van. And this van... was nicer, yes, but DIFFERENT.
I offer that trip down Memory Lane to show you that I am unreasonably sentimental. Ridiculously so. I mean, hello, I am a THIRD GRADER. We are talking about a CAR. And not even a car, but a huuuuuuge van, a van so big my mother could pretty much walk around inside and dole out snacks to the five of us in car seats. And so unattractive that it had its own nickname.
So it makes sense that I would be at least a little bit morose about the fact that my little hippie car, with its excellent mileage and shiny blue paint and sparkly rearview mirror disco ball, is sitting on some dealership lot somewhere and there's a mini minivan sitting in its place in my garage.
(Yes. That is what Phillip and Maggie Cheung did on their fifth anniversary: try out car seats in a dealer's showroom and "negotiate" with a car salesman for an hour, only to say we needed to sleep on it, by which we meant "agonize about getting a new car over our anniversary dinner of halibut and salmon". GOOD TIMES.)
Even though we'd already pretty much decided to get a new car AND we were 99% sure which one we wanted, it was still a hard decision. I mean, it seems pretty stupid, in these Dire Economic Times, to trade the car that got 42 mpg on our little weekend road trip for one that [supposedly] gets 27 mpg at best. And do we really NEED that third row? No, we guess not. Making sure you can take your 91-year-old neighbor on a 10 minute ride once a week sort of IS a silly reason to buy a totally different car. And if we DID buy this new car... that third row is super tight. I mean, my Teeny Tiny Sisters would fit just fine (seriously- why didn't I get THOSE genes?) but normal sized people? Not so much. And buckling a kid into a car seat in that third row might require more agility than Phillip and I possess. Shouldn't we be considering a Real Van? One that would be enough space, even if we had a third kid? A used one, so we'd still manage to get away with no car payment?
I was feeling guilt over wanting a New and Less Fuel Efficient car while Phillip was frowning over whether to just go for a full size van.
But today Phillip went back to the dealer on his own (can you imagine keeping a baby entertained for the duration of a Finalizing The Car Purchase afternoon? During NAP TIME?) and came home with a new car. Which we then immediately piled into because we were late for my grandmother's birthday party an hour away.
So far I love it. It doesn't drive like a van (although perhaps I don't know, as I am used to driving vans that handle like buses) and when you have been driving a diesel for two years, it doesn't take much for you to describe another car as "zippy". It's blue. It has all the fancy stuff, because Phillip's consolation prize for owning a mini minivan is that it will answer his phone for him. It's SO MUCH EASIER to get Jack in and out of a car that has sliding doors and is higher off the ground. I even think it's sort of cute (although, again, I grew up with a van that could seat 85 people.)
But I have an itsy bitsy twinge of something inside. Did we do something dumb? Irresponsible? Silly? Short-sighted? Something we'll regret?
And this is where you all say (or maybe just my mother): OH MY GOD WHO CARES IT'S A FREAKING CAR WE ARE SO SICK OF HEARING ABOUT CARS AAAUUUUGGGGHHHHH.
And then I will say: Suckas! I still have the Story Of Actually BUYING The Car And Why I Should Not Be Allowed To Be Anywhere Near Car Buying Negotiations and the Story Of Why We Traded It In (which is very short, it goes something like "no one wanted to buy it, I am assuming because they are stupid" and also "one of us is very impatient and got tired of no one emailing her, can you guess who?")
Congratulations! The car agony is finally over, enjoy the new zippy-ness.
Posted by: Charlotte | June 30, 2008 at 01:13 AM
Will it make you feel better if I tell you that we are about to buy a TRUCK, which will probably get 5mpg compared to my Honda Civic! That is because we have a baby, a farm, and a farmer's market we sell at. Yeesh!
And the reason we're going to trade in my Honda Civic is that my husband spilt a pail of milk in the truck, and the car REEKS! (Also, I'm impatient too, and who wants to deal with people who come and talk loudly and want to do car stuff while you're trying to put the baby down for his nap?).
Posted by: Sarah | June 30, 2008 at 05:45 AM
Woo-hoo! Many happy and safe miles in your new set of wheels!!!
Posted by: Kate P | June 30, 2008 at 07:03 AM
Well..that's 2 items that you can totally cross of your to do list already! See?! that's good news!
I hope you like the new car. :)
Posted by: Julie | June 30, 2008 at 07:46 AM
I will just say that buying a new car so you can still take your 91 year old neighbor to church is one of the sweetest, nicest, most thoughtful things I've ever heard, and I think it's incredible. You're a good person. Now enjoy the heck out of your new car!
PS I also cried when my parents got rid of our huge VW Bus when I was little - it was named Betsy! How could you not cry?
Posted by: Elizabeth | June 30, 2008 at 08:12 AM
My mom always says that the mini van we had when I was growing up was by far her favorite car. And now she's got fancy cars, so she must have liked it. I hope you like yours as much!
Posted by: Jen | June 30, 2008 at 08:32 AM
I am glad to hear that you have the new car and I look forward to hearing all the gory purchase details. We adore our Mazda, and will likely upgrade to the 5 when the time comes.
Oh - and happy (belated) 5th anniversary!
Posted by: Sarah in Ottawa | June 30, 2008 at 09:09 AM
I'm glad to hear about your car drama! Our little Honda Fit is alright for now, but when we decide to have a #2 of our own I'm thinking a Mazda5 might be the way to go. In fact -- could you do a post where you show pictures of both carseats in the back? Do you think 3 kids would fit? Yeah, I'm a TOTALLY boring person :)
Posted by: Pippi | June 30, 2008 at 09:55 AM
You know what, I think it's a GREAT reason to get a new car (giving your neighbor a ride to church). Obviously, this purchase has a divine intervention.
:) Becky
http://www.stinkylemsky.typepad.com/
Posted by: Becky | June 30, 2008 at 10:48 AM
You had carseats as a kid? We had the big green monster (our humongous van) as a kid, but never any carseats. I don't think they were required until much later, and I'm almost certain that my Mom carried each of us home (as infants) in her lap in the front seat.
Posted by: Lisa | June 30, 2008 at 01:43 PM
We just got a minivan last year and we struggled just like you with the decision. I kept thinking I was much too cool and hip for a minivan. But Maggie, after driving it since October, it is OUTSTANDING. I love having the slider doors, I don't have to be paranoid about hitting someone else's car. And, the van feels just like driving a car. My husband and I now both talk about how silly we were to even worry in the first place. It was the BEST decision. And, when you are wrestling with your 2 carseats and all the baby gear, you'll be so happy you switched over. Congratulations!
Posted by: Leticia | July 01, 2008 at 09:06 AM
Yay for the new car. We just had our second daughter in 19 months and I am now fitting both the infant seat and car seat in the back of my 2000 Honda Accord. Yikes. Don't get me started on cramming the Graco Duoglider Millenium Falcon-sized stroller in the trunk. But, I am in NO HURRY to get a new car. We have no one else to drive around, so we are okay for now. As a side note - my husband drives a gas guzzling Jeep Wrangler - which in a fit of insanity, I let him lease when WE ALREADY HAD ONE KID! I am sure we will get something minivan-ish when that lease expires.
Posted by: Morgan Swanson | July 01, 2008 at 11:39 AM
So NOW you need to do a car review in a few months after you have had time to test it out with two kids for a while. The Mazda5 intrigues me, as we would love to become a one car family (probably next year) and while my Accord is great, I do like the option of being able to fit someone else if we needed to...
Posted by: Tara | July 01, 2008 at 12:20 PM