Thinking of Doing the Unthinkable

I am in need of a new car. My 2000 Ford Explorer has 576,987,231,987 miles on it. As a volunteer for rescue I drive a lot. We're always picking up dogs and driving them hither and yon. Plus, my family lives in Virginia so we make that trek by car at least once a year. Not to mention all the weekend trips to Madison, Milwaukee, and "up north." We pack up and go somewhere any chance we get (fair warning: be sure that you never casually mention that you have a cabin somewhere if we are within earshot - we'll be on it like white on rice). Anyway, I love my Explorer but it's starting to exhibit some quirks. I think it's best to bid it adieu before stuff starts falling off.

So, I started to do some research. Ideally, I'd like another SUV. Sorry to be so environmentally incorrect but I can't fit three Boxers and a toddler and a stroller into a Toyota Matrix and that's all there is to it. But SUVs are expensive and we are already saddled with the car payment for P's car (a car that I hate with a burning passion that will never die, but I digress). We have lots of other fun bills, too, like an adoption loan (if you think having a kid the old-fashioned way is expensive, try adopting one!)

After digging around on some car sites online I started to think . . . would having a mini-van be the worst thing that ever happened to me? When we were in Texas the car we reserved (a mid-size sedan) was not available so they gave us a mini-van. Our first thought was, "Ugh." I had to admit, though, that not only was it roomy, it had a smooth ride and got decent gas mileage. We traded our coolness for practicality.

But who am I kidding? I'm a 37-year-old Midwestern mom with two dogs, two cats, two fish, and a mortgage. Any modicum of coolness was probably just wishful thinking on my part anyway.

If anyone present would like to object to this blogger purchasing a mini-van, speak now or forever hold your peace. Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

It's been a minute, but let's talk about my b*o*o*b*s

Image
I'm in the sixth grade. I'm sitting on the floor at my friend Sharon's house. Rachel is there, too. My well-meaning friends turn to me and gently let me know that I "really don't need to bother wearing a bra." They aren't wrong. I'm wearing one, but the situation doesn't particularly warrant it.  Two years later, I found myself sporting a C cup. My mom, a talented seamstress, made me a dress at about that time. It was a slim-fitting column dress with a matching jacket, as I recall. The white fabric had large polka dots; we jokingly called it the Wonder Bread dress. My mom took my measurements. 36-24-36 At some point in history, those numbers were considered "perfect measurements" for a woman. This was 1984; I'd like to think the world as a whole is less concerned about such things these days. I'm confident my daughter has no earthly idea what her measurements are. She just knows she's cute.  Growing up with a fun array of medi...
Read more

On Being Patriotic

The list of adjectives I assign to myself is pretty long: clumsy, organized, competent, uptight, etc. One that might surprise you: patriotic. I fully understand what it means to be an American and am darned happy about living here. But, I have a beef (that part won't surprise you). I've grown tired of certain segments of the population thinking that they've cornered the market on patriotism or that they can dictate precisely how the rest of us express ourselves when it comes to our shared country and flag. Sometimes it seems like the Toby-Keith-boot-in-yer-ass brand of patriotism drowns out the rest of us. For the record, I don't believe that patriotism requires a love of NASCAR, a disdain for immigrants, a Republican voting record, or a preference for country music. Nor does it require adherence to a specific religion. I've seen Facebook posts from some of my friends and acquaintances that call for all of us to return to the "Christian principles on which ...
Read more

14 Weeks

Image
My baby is leaving me in 14 weeks.  She and I started touring colleges in May of 2022. When I applied to colleges back in 1988, I was an English major so there were no auditions. Colleges basically just said, "Sounds good. Come on in." I was the first person in my immediate family to go to college and as a whole, I don't think we understood the importance of campus visits and such. I ended up being fairly miserable that first year until I transferred to a school closer to home. For my daughter, I wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to see lots of college campuses so that she had the best shot at figuring out what she wants out of the college experience. I wanted her to look at elements like campus size and location, diversity, activities, distance from home, and distance from the nearest "big city" (since performers often head to larger cities with active theatre scenes after college).  Last summer, we began the daunting process known as "getting int...
Read more