Something Old, Something New

If you've seen Ari this week, you know we got a new mini van. You may have driven by when she was out on the street shouting it to people. I put up these pictures so you can see what I'm up against, trying to keep this new car clean. One is the time Free and Ari finger painted the basement with oil paints and all the neighbors were bringing over industrial strength cleaners out of their garages, trying to get the kids clean. The other picture was taken today. Fortunately, the glue sticks and items from nature did not make it into the car. So tonight's post is dedicated to my two favorite mini vans; the old one and the new one. Here's a comparison, so you can decide which is your favorite.

Old van: Glove box full of Lagoon passes, an empty first aid kit, maps of California, and melted crayons.
New van: Glove box empty, but I may need to dust it again before I go to bed.

Old van: Kids spill a whole bag of movie popcorn right after I vacuum, and I don't even flinch.
New van: Each time the kids get in or out, I follow them with a clean rag, brushing the dirt away.

Old van: Double seat-belting OK, all kids welcome, bring your poor, your tired, your leaky juice boxes...
New van: I'm considering making the kids run behind it instead of riding. It's good exercize and I won't need my clean rag.

Old van: A family of raccoons could have lived comfortably, undetected, with plenty to eat, in the "way back," for months.
New van: Star tries to get in with her wet paws and I twist my ankle lunging at her, screaming, "Nooooooooooooooooooo!"

Old van: Two listening choices: NPR, or Suzuki Guitar Volume One. NPR always accompanied by Xanthe whining, "TAR music ON! NOW! Stop talking!" Guitar CD always accompanied by Golda hitting her head repeatedly against the dashboard, sobbing, "I can't listen to this ONE more time!"
New van: Has CD player, so the choices are endless, until all the CD's are broken or have rolled under the car.

Old van: In case of a natural disaster, we could have just gotten in the car and found enough clothes for a week, and maybe enough half-full bottles of water to keep us alive.
New van: The kids look like a troupe of mini sherpas leaving the car. You pack it in, you pack it out.

Old van: We pull up to a destination, open the door, and empty cups, homework papers and Subway wrappers fall out.
New van: We pull up to a destination, open the door, and people hear me shouting, "Freestone, you're going to break the new van! Stop pushing that button!"

Old van: We brought home two kids from the hospital and one from the airport in it.
New van: Seats eight, so...who knows? OK, Scott knows. And he's taking out the extra seat as we speak. :)

When we moved into our house a few years ago, we vowed to create lots of good memories in it, to catch up with all the good memories we had in Big Golda's house, where we moved from. Same with the new van. The old van took us to a lot of great places. The new van has some work to do. Road trip, anyone? We can put that extra seat back in!