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i’ve traded my youth for power sliding doors
By heather | July 7, 2009
When I turned 30, it wasn’t really a big deal to me. To be honest I freaked out more when I turned 29, the LAST YEAR OF MY TWENTIES, AGH.
I look in the mirror some days and notice a few wrinkes, but for the most part the greasy skin I was cursed with as a teenager has resulted in reasonably decent skin now. I see pictures of friends and family much younger than me and am shocked by how many more wrinkles they have.
With 34 a few months away I look at that number and wonder how it could be my age. My brain still thinks I’m 23, except with lower alcohol tolerance and a requirement for at least 8 hours of sleep a night, with a requirement to be asleep before 11 or the whole night doesn’t count and I’m as tired and cranky as an 11-year-old after a sleepover.
The point is, I’m not really sure what 33 looks like but I think I’m probably on the “looking younger than my age” side of it. That all changed last weekend when we came home with this:
(That is not my lake by the way, but it is the twin to my new Toyota Sienna.)
Brett and I have been wrestling for months over getting a minivan, because we both wanted one but neither of us wanted to drive it everyday and listen to all the soccer mom cracks and be that person all the SUVs look down upon. In yet another sign of my aging psyche, I finally caved when a guy I worked with offered to buy my Pathfinder.
(And in another cruel twist of fate, prospective buyer went AWOL for a week – the same week we bought the van – and came back to inform me that he had purchased a pickup truck instead.)
So we bought the van, and got one with the navigation system which it turns out I hate more than life itself and wish I could rip out of the car, so I keep it turned off which is a huge waste of a couple grand. I’ve been struggling with the middle-class guilt over buying a new car, when I had a perfectly FINE car that transported us where we wanted to go and had everything I needed, except of course power sliding doors and a DVD system.
I insisted on being difficult and getting it in BLACK, because I am still bad ass on the inside you see, and to get a BLACK one we had to go all the way to DC and that kind of screwed us because we don’t get free oil changes or maintenance unless I drive 150 miles every time I need one.
(It was handy when I was turning down the add-ons because I was able to say, “Oh sorry I don’t live here so that isn’t a benefit I’ll ever use…”)
Anyway, even if I haven’t been able to fully enjoy the new car, Alex is totally enthralled with it, inside and out. I can bribe him to do things by offering to let him push the button on the remote to open the doors. When the hatch closes by itself, beeping on the way down, he says, “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!” and squeals in delight. He loves, LOVES LOOOVES to ride in Mommysnewcar. Even when Brett is driving, it’s still known as Mommysnewcar. All this excitement, and we haven’t even busted out the DVD player yet. That will happen Friday when we embark on our annual summer adventure known as the Great Northern Tour, when we make the rounds of family and picnics and birthday parties and reunions and every night the kids baths wash off pink lipstick and old lady perfume.
The Sienna and I have yet to bond, partly because it’s a new car that I didn’t truly need and partly because I am still not fully accepting of myself as a minivan driver. It reminds me that life isn’t all about me like it was 10 years ago.
I find myself behind the wheel of a large automobile, with a beautiful house, and beautiful kids
and I may ask myself, well-how did I get here?
I’m really not sure. But nobody is mistaking me for 23.
(P. S. The title of this post is a tribute to my friend Emily, who long ago did the same thing and coined the phrase.)
Topics: Alex, this is why | 6 Comments »
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July 8th, 2009 at 8:43 am
David Caradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Billy Mays, Michael Jackson, Karl Malden, and NOW THIS?!?!?
July 8th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
oh, we SUV drivers don’t look down upon you… in fact there is probably a little jealousy of all the minivan features that the SUVs don’t have, the SUV drivers are just stubborn, that’s all.
July 8th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
You can always turn back
That’s the last time I make fun. Now I’ll only agree with you about all the cool features. Enjoy with no guilt please; you make your money and can spend it on whatever you want.
July 9th, 2009 at 11:18 am
So we’re the exact same age and as far as I’m concerned? That car is HOT.
And as for the 23 thing… I teach a whole gaggle of ‘em (graduate students) and honestly? 30s are way more cool.
(And BTW, still drooling over that HOT HOT HOT car.)
Holly’s last blog post..IKEA hits home.
July 13th, 2009 at 9:36 pm
Were you reading KC’s blog back when she got her minivan? I can’t even find the post, as she seems to have cleared out her archives. I did, however, find this gift I made for her: flames.
I find myself thinking a minivan is in our future. Especially when we go on trips, and my legs are pinned down with stuff that won’t fit in the back of the car.
Also? I think minivans are way cooler than SUVs.
alejna’s last blog post..The June Just Posts
July 15th, 2009 at 5:59 pm
OK, I’m “in,” because I’m “in” the same situ…but I’m a guy, and I don’t have kids…unless my “inner child/inner teenager” counts. I won’t say “we,” in case the below doesn’t apply to “you.” *I’m* older (43), heavier (255), smarter (?), and have better money than when I was 20-30. I STILL do road-trips; I STILL play AC/DC, etc. while I drive…I just want/need to be somewhat “rested” by the time I get there (and back). Yes, I sort of apologize to my “inner-” for looking at mini-vans, but it’s better than apologizing to my body/mind with Advil when I get there. To twist several cliches into one Wisdom: It’s not the size of the wheels, nor the color of paint; it’s the A-Hoo-yah!!! I can do when I get out of said staid rolling living room…
Rock On! (With full air conditioning and plush seats!)
TT