The Chevy Express 15 passenger van is my dream car. I mean, who isn't attracted to those sleek lines and amazing maneuverability? Said no one ever. Nope. The reason you succumb to those 4 rows of cloth benches and manual seat adjusters is one thing. Kids. Lots of them.
We've always loved to travel. One reason for that is the ability to have less interrupted conversation. At home, conversations go something like this:
David, over morning coffee, "Hey, honey. I was thinking we should -"
Random child, "Moooooom! Tony hit me!"
Me, "hold that thought." Spank Tony, resolve a sharing issue, change a filthy diaper, feed hungry children, get David to put babies down for naps, then send him to run the errands that only a crazy person would take kids to do, move over a load of laundry, solve the world shattering crisis Danae is currently dealing with, tell Drew to take out the trash, notice he looks like he hasn't had a shower since his latest mudbath, send him to shower, fix snack for now awake babies, clean kitchen, make supper, feed the hordes, bathe babies, change another poopy diaper (what was the point of the bath?), jammies and bedtime. "Ok, Dear. What was it you were saying?"
David, "I think we should take a road trip. "
In the car, we have a captive audience. Conversation flows a little more smoothly. David, "You know, I think we should adopt more kids."
Random wail from the backseat.
Me, "Turn the music up, honey, we can still hear them. Yes. We definitely need more kids. Look how many seats in this van are still empty!"
In truth, the kids think the van is the coolest thing ever. Its a roving social club. They're making up awesome names for it and thinking of all the friends they can take places now. I'm excited to be able to spread carseats out and not have to that tilt-buckle thing. It's daunting, though, for other people. "Do you have to have a CDL to drive that thing?" My hairdresser asked me. For the record no. No you don't. You may need an industrial sized thermos of extra strength coffee, the economy pack of dramamine and several professional opinions that you're not as crazy as you feel. But a regular licence is fine.
I ended up with a late night trip to walmart a few days ago. Something happened that I hadn't expected. A thirty-something year old woman with short, sporty hair pushed her cart down the row ahead of me. She stopped to unload at the 15 passenger van that had parked caddy-corner to me. I caught her eye in passing and she noticed me stop at our van. Like two English speaking people in a foreign country, we had an instant connection. Yeah. I'm a van owner too. Welcome to the small group of crazy people with too many kids to drive a cute car.
We've always loved to travel. One reason for that is the ability to have less interrupted conversation. At home, conversations go something like this:
David, over morning coffee, "Hey, honey. I was thinking we should -"
Random child, "Moooooom! Tony hit me!"
Me, "hold that thought." Spank Tony, resolve a sharing issue, change a filthy diaper, feed hungry children, get David to put babies down for naps, then send him to run the errands that only a crazy person would take kids to do, move over a load of laundry, solve the world shattering crisis Danae is currently dealing with, tell Drew to take out the trash, notice he looks like he hasn't had a shower since his latest mudbath, send him to shower, fix snack for now awake babies, clean kitchen, make supper, feed the hordes, bathe babies, change another poopy diaper (what was the point of the bath?), jammies and bedtime. "Ok, Dear. What was it you were saying?"
David, "I think we should take a road trip. "
In the car, we have a captive audience. Conversation flows a little more smoothly. David, "You know, I think we should adopt more kids."
Random wail from the backseat.
Me, "Turn the music up, honey, we can still hear them. Yes. We definitely need more kids. Look how many seats in this van are still empty!"
In truth, the kids think the van is the coolest thing ever. Its a roving social club. They're making up awesome names for it and thinking of all the friends they can take places now. I'm excited to be able to spread carseats out and not have to that tilt-buckle thing. It's daunting, though, for other people. "Do you have to have a CDL to drive that thing?" My hairdresser asked me. For the record no. No you don't. You may need an industrial sized thermos of extra strength coffee, the economy pack of dramamine and several professional opinions that you're not as crazy as you feel. But a regular licence is fine.
I ended up with a late night trip to walmart a few days ago. Something happened that I hadn't expected. A thirty-something year old woman with short, sporty hair pushed her cart down the row ahead of me. She stopped to unload at the 15 passenger van that had parked caddy-corner to me. I caught her eye in passing and she noticed me stop at our van. Like two English speaking people in a foreign country, we had an instant connection. Yeah. I'm a van owner too. Welcome to the small group of crazy people with too many kids to drive a cute car.
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