Alas, I am a minivan mom. I didn’t really want to be. My mom drove a Chevy Suburban, and we filled every single one of those seats. And it still had room in the back to haul stuff! What an awesome SUV. I want an SUV.
My first mom car was an SUV. I did like my Subaru Forester. As my husband would say, “This thing could climb a tree!” It was a great car with all wheel drive, good gas mileage, and plenty of space for two little ones. My double stroller fit in the back with ease. I even felt stylin’ with my cool American flag stickers we put on the back window. But now, it was time. Every time my husband would get in the Forester, he would say, “We have outgrown this thing.” And if we potentially had another kid coming along… wow, we would need a bigger car.
This was no new idea. My husband finds joy in mentioning cars he thinks I should buy, probably about 4 times a day. Ever since we first got married, the one car that keeps circling around (besides a Mustang and a Bronco) is a minivan. I’ve always scoffed at him. “No way!” I would say. “I’ll drive a Honda Pilot.” (No worries, I won’t need a Suburban.)
So, my husband goes to test drive a Pilot. Before he even got in the car, he tried to fit in my all-important double stroller in the back with the third row of seats up. Did it fit? Well, sort of. If you take the wheels off.
It already takes me about 15 minutes to get out of the car. Let’s say for example I am going for a run at the Greenway with both kids. I have to take out the double stroller. I have to pop it open. I have to load both kids into the stroller. I have to load two sets of snacks, two water bottles, and books, toys, etc. to keep them occupied. Actually, that only took about ten minutes. But by the time I forget MY water, and my daughter forgets Bear Bear, and my son forgets (I forget what he forgets), THEN it has taken 15 minutes to get out of the car. Heaven forbid I have to add taking the wheels on and off my double stroller. Then it will take me 20 minutes to get out of the car.
What do we do now? “You know,” my husband starts. I already know what he is going to say. And I am a highly practical person. A van would be practical. They get even greater gas mileage. You can get one for a decent price (because nobody wants them). They have sliding doors, so my body shop working husband won’t have to fix anymore dings from my kids opening car doors into other car doors. And with the third row down, you can haul a sectional couch, much less a double stroller with its wheels still on. “Even with the third row up,” my husband assures me, “You should still be able to fit your stroller in with the wheels on.”
If this is true, it will be a deal breaker.
My husband finds someone local selling a Honda Odyssey, a fairly new, not many miles, in good shape Odyssey. I screw up my face and say, “Let’s go.” Before we even get in, we put the third row up. I look down into the deep well that is the trunk space of a van. I know before we even try my double stroller will fit in it. And yes, it does, with ease.
The rest is history.
Everyone asks me if I like it. My practical side says, “Yes, it is very serviceable.” All my other sides know that it is a minivan, and not an SUV. But, I CAN fit a double stroller, a big-girl bike, and a tricycle all in the back at one time. It is very nice. And, the DMV officially calls my vehicle a truck, so I guess in the end I did get my SUV after all.