Happy Anniversary: My First Anniversary as a Minivan Owner

I recently celebrated my first anniversary as a minivan owner. So how would I describe the first year?

“Meh.”

The love stories. They are everywhere. Blogs, YouTube videos. The minivan gets some major love via social media. Maybe all those love stories built my expectations up too high. Let down was inevitable. Don’t get me wrong, I fully recognize the practicality of the van. 

With four young kids, it made total sense for us. The double stroller fits without issue, even on nights when we have to pack up the baseball equipment, cooler, and lawn chairs. This vehicle by far, has more bells and whistles than any other we’ve ever had.  Leather interior, navigation, a DVD player, and it rides incredibly smoothly. But I don’t love it. In fact, when I drive my bare-bones, base model 10-year-old GMC Acadia, I savor it.

It makes me contemplate whether I associate the minivan with my self-identity. A late thirty-something who walked away from a demanding & fulfilling career to spend more time with her kids and help her husband build his business. A woman is still struggling to find her footing nearly three years later. A woman who vowed up and down that she never would own a minivan…even up until that trip to the Honda dealership. The Pilot. I was there to test drive the Pilot.

Or, maybe that thought is just a bunch of crap. Put the violin away, Ruth. Perhaps it’s as simple as me not warming up to it as much as I thought I would. Maybe I haven’t fully reaped the benefits of the van because I haven’t utilized those bells and whistles. Maybe I need to use the remote door openers more often to realize how much easier this van can make my life. Maybe I need to be less lazy and remove the middle seat when it’s not being used, so getting to the third row isn’t so clumsy. Maybe I need to take a step back and realize that if I am writing about this, life is pretty darn good.

Who knows.

Do I love it? No. Do I hate it? No. It’s sensible. And, sensible is a good. But will I buy another? Nope.

Am I alone out there? Anyone else not seduced by the minivan? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Original post by Ruth on 8/2/17