When I was in high school, I had a veritable myriad of cars. First, I had a Suzuki Samurai and the fastest it would go was 75mph, downhill, with the wind. I loved that thing. It had a rag top on it, so my best friend and I braved the cold and took it off to cruise around town when I first got it. I completely forgot that my temporary license plate was taped to the top and still had no idea what was going on even as a State Trooper pulled me over. I had never been pulled over before, so I made my way to the next turn-off and then pulled into the parking lot of an apartment complex. You would have thought this State Trooper was my father by the way he was ripping into me because of what was technically an extremely slow car chase since I didn't pull over immediately. The apartment complex happened to be that of my best friend and her mother was at home and she stood outside her front door and just laughed and laughed and laughed. Man, she had herself a good time. I think I'd had the car for about a day when this happened. And at first the "jeep" wouldn't go faster than 35mph...anywhere. I was so frustrated and then My BFF and I realized I had been driving with the parking brake on.
For a week.
We laughed so hard I almost peed myself. But it was really, really pathetic. I'm sure when I told my dad he was wishing he'd never even bought the thing. :)
The next car I had was a Dodge Colt Vista. You cannot imagine a sillier car for a 16 year old. I say this with no malice whatsoever, though. If I could find this car, I would buy it and hang onto it just so I could pass it to my daughters when they start to drive.
We affectionately dubbed it "The Jan Van". I could fit a lot of friends in this baby, too. It really came in handy for all those after school practices, track meets, and volleyball games when we each carried a HUGE bag of equipment. You could barely hear the radio even if the speakers were turned all the way up. And the windows came up to your elbows, simulating a ride in a snowglobe. People were even asking me for rides. The car was just that funny. I have to say thanks to my dad, though! I was a lucky enough kid that my parents bought cars for me and I am very grateful for that!
The Jan Van, unfortunately, left a sour taste in my mouth, concerning vans, for many years to come. To this day, in fact, I have issues with vans. I really don't like them and I consider them to be "not me". Even though I had 3 kiddos, I always wanted an SUV or station wagon. A van just seemed wrong for me. Until yesterday, I was dead set against a van. Until yesterday I said that vans were for those "other moms". That was yesterday.
Today, I want a van. I want a van because I drove the new 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan and me likey.
Something about the van just spoke to me. It said something like: "I will work my butt off for you. And with the kids in the back seat, you will barely be able to hear them fight over the Polly Pockets. And I have 19 cup holders."
And then it softly whispered: "I come in ORANGE."
And then my life changed. And as soon as we figure out exactly what we want and work out the financing, I will be the proud owner of a house on wheels.
