Minivan mom and proud

I have always been one of those people who said I would never drive a minivan; but after I had Ryan, trying to fit two car seats and a 14-year-old boy in the back of my Hyundai Elantra just didn't fly. We held off for a whole six weeks after Ryan was born before we bit the bullet and bought a minivan.

At first I was so embarrassed at how much I loved my new van. It was roomy, Jonathan fit in the back with extra room to spare and all the strollers, diaper bags and miscellaneous baby gear mothers are required to tote around with them fit nicely inside.

As a young mother who really can't believe she's 32 with two babies, the first thing I had to get over was the fact that while driving around town with the windows open and the music blaring, people aren't looking at me thinking, "Look at that chick." It's more like, "Why in heaven's name is that woman blasting the Elmo song"?

Hey man, Elmo rocks! He can rap the alphabet like no one's business.

Anyway, when my car started sputtering last Friday, I started freaking out and immediately called the dealer. Since my husband was in Cancun until Monday, I had to wait until Tuesday to drop it off. At 7 a.m. Tuesday morning, I took my car to the dealer and left it there and picked up a loaner. They asked me what kind of car I wanted and since I wasn't expecting much, I said I didn't care what kind of car it was, as long as I could fit the two car seats in the back. They gave me the exact same minivan I am already driving.

What a relief – even more so since it's Thursday and they still have my car. After driving the van for the last five months, I can't imagine driving anything else. Slap a bumper sticker on the back and call me a soccer mom, I don't care. This minivan rocks and I don't care who knows. This is the first car in my sorted vehicle past that I truly love. There isn't one thing I can complain about. Even the problem the mechanic is currently fixing and the loaner car is covered under warranty, so this isn't a major inconvenience.

I'm hoping to get the call today saying I can pick up my car because Sophia's cookies are in the glove compartment and she finished the snack pack my friend gave me for this cookie emergency, but I'm not holding my breath. They have to replace some kind of important engine part, so they can keep it as long as they need to make it safe again. The temporary minivan is just fine and I can always pick up extra cookies on my lunch break.