It has been a while since I've written but I wanted to share the exciting news that I've become a minivan mom. Yup, I joined the ranks of those moms (and dads too I guess!) who proudly park a large box-shaped, boring coloured vehicle in their driveway everyday.
Honestly, I never imagined myself driving a minivan ... Not sure why I thought that though. I always dreamed of having four children so obviously a larger vehicle would be in order - although my parents had four of us along with a variety of foster children over the years and never drove anything larger than an Oldsmobile. I digress ... along with that picture of a family of six, these children would ...
** quietly get themselves into their respective and designated spots in the vehicle
** buckle themselves in
** keep their socks and shoes on; and
** never ever chuck stuff at each other or drop their snacks on the floor.
Ok, so even with two children all of the above perfectness has dissolved into reality. A reality that I kind of like. Driving my new minivan is an adventure most days. Kailyn gets to decide where she would like to sit -- right now she is in the very back where Jude can't even see her let alone lob goldfish her way. She can buckle herself in thank goodness or I'd be getting a workout every time we had to get in or out of the van. I take bets on how many minutes it will take Jude to get his shoes and socks off even in the most wintery weather we've had this season (also on how many times I will have to put them back on in one outing OR how many dirty looks I get if I take him into a store/bank/post office without socks and shoes!!). My kids shout out "mine" when they see a horse, exclaim with joy, "I see a Canada flag" or "there's the river!" and a personal favourite, "What's that tractor doing on the road? It should be in a field". In our car they can't really see out the windows at all.
Kailyn is excited to pack all of our camping and trailer supplies in the van.
I don't bonk my head when getting Jude in and out of the van.
We can watch movies (on long trips) in the van (I am not sure if this is a perk or not yet).
The van, the van, the van. Thankful for my van.
But of course there is a darker side, besides the extra cash on gas! Ownership of a van reminds me that I can comfortably fit more people ... more kids. And right now I don't have more kids to fill up those seats. This might seem rather silly and most days I don't think too much about it, but it is definitely there, lurking in the back of my brain as I recite the lines of "Despicable Me 2" or hand yet more snacks to the bottomless pits behind me.
When will this wait be over? When will Kailyn be relegated to the back seat on a more permanent basis because there is a baby who needs the seat closest to the door? When will I get to install a car seat base for an infant seat and choose new fabric for a funky new diaper bag? When will I get to be the mom who looks like she drives a clown car because the kids are piling out of it? When?
Until that day when Tuininga kid #3 arrives, I rest in the fact that God knows my child already and knows the answer to all my questions. Until then, I will drive my minivan and I will like it!
April
