Minivan Mania

It's a rainy day here in Atlanta. I'm actually enjoying it as we've rarely had any rainy days since 2012 started. I've managed to get some things done and even caught up on Grey's. One of things I've been working on is researching cars. Well, that's sort of true. I don't really need to research because I know what I want. I actually love my current car, a Toyota 4-Runner and I've had it for 7 years. It's been a fantastic car and held up extremely well in my accident 4 years ago (that's a story for another day). So, why change now? It's not a desperate situation by any means, but I would like a little more room.

As you can imagine, Steve has his opinion on what the next "family" vehicle should be. Obviously, so do I. I will admit (there is a really good chance that "very stubborn" is the operative word here) that I am somewhat opinionated when it comes to what I drive. I am an SUV girl and have been for a very long time. I'm not looking for that to change. Just like I was never a girly girl growing up and hated to wear dresses (much to my mother's chagrin). However, for the record, I have completely changed my tune on dresses because when it's 100 degrees and 2,000% humidty in Georgia, a sundress is the ONLY way to go. Anyway, Steve said the word (and continues to say it, mostly because he thinks it's hilarious) that makes my skin crawl and stomach churn. He said the word: minivan. People, I would rather die then drive one of those things, Swaggerwagon or not. Nothing and no one is ever going to convince me that minivans are "cool". To my friends who drive them, please don't be offended. I respect your choice and would never argue that minivans aren't practical, because they are. They were designed with the modern mom and family in mind. I'm not hating on anyone who drives a minivan, they're just not for me. To humor Steve, I went along with him to a dealership to look at a minivan. I'm pretty sure that I hurt the salesman's feelings when I told him indeed I did not want to test drive it. But look at all it does, all of the amazing functions! All very true, but not in my wheelhouse. We have two kids, not 5!

So, as you can imagine, the car "discussion" (read: battle royal) has been interesting. I'm not sure Steve and I will ever see eye to eye on this topic. He wants to know what it is about minivans that makes me so crazy. I'd like to say that it's because I feel like I'm cut off all the time by minivans but I'm not certain that's a true statement. There are bad drivers everywhere in all types of vehicles and we have more than enough to go around here in Atlanta. Why woudn't I want to make my life easier, more convenient? A minivan could do that for me. But as I mentioned above, I'm stubborn (I'm Irish, it's a born-in trait) and I'm hell-bent on proving that I can exist without changing my lifestyle. So, yes, I would like to upgrade to a larger SUV. That alone should label me as insane with gas prices at $9.00 a gallon. But, if given the choice between a minivan or keeping my SUV? I guess I'll drive my SUV until the wheels fall off :)