Saying Goodbye

Saturday night, our family said goodbye to a member of the family.

Our minivan.

Let me start by telling you that Jeff and I were never excited about being minivan owners.

Unlike many parents, we waited until I was pregnant with our 4th child before we finally went out and bought a minivan. Because we HAD to. I hated the idea of a minivan, I didn't want one and I kind of went to the dealership kicking and screaming on the inside.

But we grew to like the minivan. Not love, but like for sure.

And let me tell you, that car took us everywhere. I mean obviously, it drove us everywhere, but the places we went? Most minivans don't see that kind of variety in their everyday use.

We bought the van in Rhode Island and from there it took us on trips to New York, Pennsylvania, Massachussetts and of course, Narragansett Beach-probably the best beach ever.

But more than those road trips we took while living on the east coast, it drove us cross country when we left RI to go to MBA school in Utah. Then it took us to Wisconsin for our internship with Land's End.

And best of all, it brought our last 3 children home from the hospital.

All in all, that little van visited 24 states with us, took us over 120,000 miles, and represents a lot of great memories.

But like many things, it was time to move on. We bought the big 12 passenger two years ago when Nora was born, and we decided to finally sell the minivan.

We sold it to a nice guy who has three kids and hopefully it will help them reach fun and happy destinations.

But as we drove away from the Carl's Jr. parking lot, I cried. I hadn't expected that. But when I thought of all the memories with that car, and realized it still probably had remnants of Narragansett beach sand, I just lost it.

I'm still a little emotional thinking about it. But we're making memories with our "new" van, and finding happiness as a family within it's big blue frame.

So farewell little grey minivan. Good luck in your new life.