This morning was full of excitement in our Little Red House... at least the kids thought so. Our big black van has been out of commission for a few days. Hubby tried to fix her himself but due to a complicated work schedule and lack of auto shop in our backyard, off she went to our VERY trusty mechanic.
The kids were thrilled to see the big tow truck pull our beauty right out of the driveway and on to the flat bed. The older girls got sad that she was leaving us. I just sat there and thought, even broken, she is the prettiest van I have ever seen.
YES, our van is a member of our family and takes on an identification all of its own. She has been so good to us over the last 5 years. Trustworthy, reliable and dependable. She is old though and has lots of miles under her belt so its ok for her to take a rest. We are not mad or frustrated. Just THANKFUL we have the money to fix her and that we have had MANY years with NO repairs whatsoever. We have had SOOO many good times with her. SO many trips, short and long. We have crammed an illegal amount of people in her and even camped out in her before. ( I have pictures of that somewhere??)
My big tug-boat is known in my neighborhood and my church. When they see big ol bertha coming they know GapGirls clan is on her way... the party has arrived!!!
We have shoved Christmas trees IN her, furniture IN her and moved to a whole different state in her.
She has been to the beach, the mountains and to Disney.
She was a complete answer to our prayers for a new van. God practically placed her right in our laps. The moment I walked in her (9 months pregnant with #4) I KNEW she was the one. We bought her on the spot without ever lifting the hood or turning the key....
She will be laid-to-rest in the next year or two as we will be upgrading to a 12 passanger van but we will drive her as long as we can till that day comes... and then realize NOTHING can ever compare to our beautiful Black Beauty!!
So know this...we had two suburbans that we drove to over 225,000 miles...our oldest at age 11, learned to change the brakes on it and I never paid for brakes again...we also had an Astro van that I repaired the header...all of our cars have been with us such a long time that they become part of the family....my kids tell stories around the cars..like the time I was driving down the highway and the hood popped open.:)
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed...always takes me back to the days of my first four and reminds me of today with my four year old.
Blessings on your pregnancy
isn't it amazing how our cars/vehicles become a trusted family member? glad to hear she is just getting a tweak job and will be good as new..;) have a wonderful weekend.:)
ReplyDeleteI loved my minivan! I cried when the transmission went on it and they told us it wasn't worth the repair! :o( I now have my Freestyle, which I love, but it's still missing one seat and a place for my purse! Maybe someday the Freestyle can be Jon's and I can get another beloved minivan! *sigh*
ReplyDeleteWe have had a van for about 11 yrs. Have had repairs done along the way. Having trouble now. Hate to even think of not having it anymore. Like you it has done so much with us. Always wished ours was black. Hubby says no it would look amish. I ask whats wrong with that? He thinks I am to old fashioned & should have been amish. I sure hope you get Bertha fixed & home soon. May God bless you with a good 12 passanger van when your ready.
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