An Ordinary Mom's Musings

My husband has always said we would never own a minivan, and that he would never drive a minivan. There is that saying, “You should never say never,” right?

We only have two kids so we should be able to fit in a smaller car right? There’s only four of us. But we also have my son’s service dog Charlie who goes with us everywhere we go. He’s a Golden Retriever, so he’s not exactly small.

While we did technically fit in a car, it was a really tight fit for the kids and the dog. Add to that, that our kids are only getting older and bigger. They don’t come from a short genetic pool. Their legs are quickly catching up with mine. I expect that both of them will be taller than me one day soon.

Then there are all the health issues our son has. . . For many of them, what car we drive doesn’t matter. There’s just one really important one- Autism meltdowns. A meltdown in a car with him in the back seat becomes dangerous for his sister and dog. There is nowhere they can go to get out of his way. It is dangerous for all of us because his feet and hands can reach me while driving and I’ve dodged many a kick to the head while driving.

We REALLY, REALLY wanted to get a new SUV with 3rd-row seating. But when we tried them out, we discovered that that 3rd row is really hard to access except for a very few and those few were beyond our price range. We knew it was imperative for safety reasons that we have a bigger car and our only option was a minivan. (Did I mention that it replaced a Dodge Charger that has been my favorite car to drive to date? This was dream crushing.)

My husband still said he would never drive it. (Famous last words.) It is still his least favorite car and he would much rather drive our truck. But for us, the minivan works. Our son and his dog get the back row to themselves. The dog loves the minivan so much, that if we throw a treat back there and it misses him, he leaves it there until getting out of the car. And this dog LOVES his food! Our daughter sits in one of the middle captain chairs. This gives her some space from her brother. Should things really get out of hand, she can escape to the front seat when my husband isn’t along for the ride.

The storage room, um, AMAZING! I can do my monthly Costco and Winco trips together and could easily hit up a couple more stores if I wanted. Shortly after we bought our Town and Country, they came out with a new version that had a built-in vacuum- I was sorely tempted to turn it back in and get that one. Did you spill fries all over the car? Great! Vacuum them up before you leave the car! Sand from the beach everywhere? Vacuum your own row up! Oh, and there are buttons everywhere to lose and open doors. So much easier than the original minivans I grew up with.

One day we can have a car that is fun to drive again. But for now, utility wins.

This was written several months ago and I’m now pleased to say that we have a luxurious Buick Enclave and my husband is now happy. It still has the three rows of seating that make it work for us.