Real life is… when you finally buy that minivan that you promised yourself you’d never drive.
Dear thirteen-year old Alyssa, you were wrong. Minivans aren’t so bad. There will come a day in your life where practicality beats out glimmer and glamour (much like those black yoga pants you will wear pretty much every day.) Those babies you daydreamed of having with your Prince Charming? What did you think you were doing to haul them around in, your hot pink Jeep Wrangler?
Listen to me, darling, it has everything you never dreamed of and more. It has holders for every water bottle and sippy cup and container of Wet Wipes you could ever possibly need. It has space for the kids, your ginormous diaper bag, and everyone’s Christmas presents as you make the trek home for the holidays. It also has that that “mommy space” (okay, just really comfy front seat) you’ll need when the house is messy and loud and you leave your Prince inside to the ~~wolves~~ kids to retreat for ~~a half hour~~ ten minutes of solitude in the garage. It has features that you can’t really imagine yet how good they’ll be- like the DVD player for your toddler to watch Toy Story on repeat, a rearview camera so you don’t hit any ~~people~~ mailboxes, and not just automatic side doors but backdoor as well, so you don’t drop any ~~children~~ bags in the parking lot. As your buddy Rhea will say to you (yes, you are still great friends after all of these years), just embrace it! You’ll balk a little at first, but once your SIL sings the praises of her mini you’ll begin to give in little by little. Your Prince will be pretty excited about it and there’s just something about him on daddy duty that makes him go up a couple more notches on the hott-ness scale.
I know… other vehicles will have nice features, too. But this is practical for your life in this season. And it fits in your garage. The point is, things change. Times change. Priorities change. And you’ll change, too. But whatever, thirteen-year old Alyssa. Go back to singing to your Grease soundtrack (wait, you’ll still do that over a decade later…) and doing your homework. Don’t worry your pretty little bangs about such things. Time will tell soon enough.
In the meantime, we A’baums will be cruising down I-75 in our swagger wagon - jamming to the best of Disney, riding ~~dirty~~ with dirty diapers (in the handy trash bag holder our mini so conveniently has), and living the wild life in the far right lane.