Cars define who we are. I've heard of people who've had love ones pass away and they just want to get rid of their cars as soon as possible, otherwise every time they arrive home and see their loved one's car sitting in the driveway, the first thought is that that person is home. Cars truly identify who we are. When I come around the corner heading towards my home, I often see the girls' boyfriends's cars parked outside and I know they're visiting (and it brings a smile to my face - they're great!) Or I arrive home, and by taking 'driveway car attendance' I know who is home.
I learned to drive in a little yellow manual Datsun on the country roads in rural Alberta. I'm sure that poor little car took a beating as I learned to work my way through the gears. From that car I advanced to a sweet little white four door Nissan Sentra. That car drove me back and forth to University for many years, complete with a 'University of Calgary' sticker in the back window. I think that car still resides in the quonset at my parents' home. My first purchase of my 'own' car was a beautiful, sporty silver Toyota Celica. That car was fun! I loved it! I had that car for my first couple years of teaching and brought it into our marriage (to go alongside Kevin's red Mustang - we were 'cool' haha)
Then everything changed...... we realized that we couldn't afford to run two vehicles so we traded them both in on an awesome Toyota 4Runner. That was fun! But alas, it was only 2 door and when we discovered twins were on the way, we decided changes needed to be made. So we traded the fun, totally non-economical truck for a very functional 4-door Honda Accord sedan.... we should have realized then that we were now on the slippery slope towards the ultimate family vehicle..... the van. Yes, two years later when MacKenzie was on her way, we switched the car for ..... the van. The 8 passenger maroon Chevy Astro van. We had arrived at the stereotypical family vehicle, something we'd both hoped never to do! haha.... but we did and we had that van, followed by the all-wheel drive version of that van (in order to safely travel the snowy, icy, mountainous roads), followed by a newer Dodge Caravan. Along the way...probably when the twins were about 5 or 6 I cried for some freedom from the housebound single vehicle family we were. We managed to then begin to work our way through a series of very cheap, very run-down, very ugly cars so that I could use the van to transport the kids around and Kevin could have a vehicle to get to work. These cars had names such as 'Mr Ugly', 'the farting car', etc. A couple of them found their way to the fire department's vehicle graveyard (where they would practice tearing cars apart). We even have pictures of our girls in swimming goggles wielding golf clubs as they got to attack the windsheilds and headlights of the car at it's final resting place. (I looked for this picture but I think it's in a box in Canada)
When we moved to NZ our first vehicle purchase was (you guessed it) a van. In our fuzzy brained, culture-shocked, state of mind, we purchased one of the first vehicles we came upon only to have it cause us a lot of problems. ugh. But aside from that, I really found it difficult to drive a van in this new upside-down country. Everything was opposite. The side of the road, the signal light lever, the wipers' lever, parallel parking, which door to go to to get into the driver's seat (I still sometimes go to the wrong side!!). So after a month or two we decided that I needed a MUCH smaller vehicle....and thus we ended up with the adorable little white Nissan March that I have now driven for the past 4 years. It has been such a great little car. We have all learned to drive in it. Our girls all got their licenses using it and Kevin has taught a few people from our church how to drive using this little car. It has definitely served its purpose! And there was no way anyone could speed in it! haha
We had some mechanical troubles with it a while back and our mechanic friend has warned us that more on our their way and so we should consider getting rid of it.... so we went looking for a new car for me.
And this is where my contemplation on the stages of cars in our lives began. When we're young we love the sporty, fun, totally impractical car. It is the beginning of defining who we are. As we grow our families we also grow up ourselves and realize that practicality is number one priority! Kevin and I also realized that being inclusive was also very important to us. We wanted a van big enough to transport our children as well as their friends. Even when we moved here we consciously got a van so that we'd have room to bring others along with us. As we advance in our car-defining phases of life, we pass through the family stage and move back into the 'second youth' stage! lol. We want a car that defines who we are. We no longer have to drive hoards of pre-teen giggling girls to baseball tournaments eating McDonald's and spilling ketchup and fries on the seat. Now we get to have our 'own' car, one that pretty much I am the only person who gets to drive it and make decisions about it! That's kinda fun! So in my contemplating as to what to buy I knew four things for sure. 1. It couldn't be grey, black or white. I wanted COLOR!!! 2. It had to be 5 passenger and 4-door, because let's face it, I'm still really practical and I still do like to take people along. 3. It had to be really comfortable, so that we could take it on road trips if we chose to. 4. It couldn't be too big. So I was very excited to come upon 'Shrek'..... the 4-door, 5 passenger, super comfy, GREEN car!!!! And lo, and behold, it's another Nissan..... so I guess I just have a soft sport for that old yellow little Datsun (Nissan & Datsun are the same) that I started driving 30 years ago (wow, can it really be that long ago!!?!)
Introducing my new car identity! :D
I learned to drive in a little yellow manual Datsun on the country roads in rural Alberta. I'm sure that poor little car took a beating as I learned to work my way through the gears. From that car I advanced to a sweet little white four door Nissan Sentra. That car drove me back and forth to University for many years, complete with a 'University of Calgary' sticker in the back window. I think that car still resides in the quonset at my parents' home. My first purchase of my 'own' car was a beautiful, sporty silver Toyota Celica. That car was fun! I loved it! I had that car for my first couple years of teaching and brought it into our marriage (to go alongside Kevin's red Mustang - we were 'cool' haha)
Then everything changed...... we realized that we couldn't afford to run two vehicles so we traded them both in on an awesome Toyota 4Runner. That was fun! But alas, it was only 2 door and when we discovered twins were on the way, we decided changes needed to be made. So we traded the fun, totally non-economical truck for a very functional 4-door Honda Accord sedan.... we should have realized then that we were now on the slippery slope towards the ultimate family vehicle..... the van. Yes, two years later when MacKenzie was on her way, we switched the car for ..... the van. The 8 passenger maroon Chevy Astro van. We had arrived at the stereotypical family vehicle, something we'd both hoped never to do! haha.... but we did and we had that van, followed by the all-wheel drive version of that van (in order to safely travel the snowy, icy, mountainous roads), followed by a newer Dodge Caravan. Along the way...probably when the twins were about 5 or 6 I cried for some freedom from the housebound single vehicle family we were. We managed to then begin to work our way through a series of very cheap, very run-down, very ugly cars so that I could use the van to transport the kids around and Kevin could have a vehicle to get to work. These cars had names such as 'Mr Ugly', 'the farting car', etc. A couple of them found their way to the fire department's vehicle graveyard (where they would practice tearing cars apart). We even have pictures of our girls in swimming goggles wielding golf clubs as they got to attack the windsheilds and headlights of the car at it's final resting place. (I looked for this picture but I think it's in a box in Canada)
When we moved to NZ our first vehicle purchase was (you guessed it) a van. In our fuzzy brained, culture-shocked, state of mind, we purchased one of the first vehicles we came upon only to have it cause us a lot of problems. ugh. But aside from that, I really found it difficult to drive a van in this new upside-down country. Everything was opposite. The side of the road, the signal light lever, the wipers' lever, parallel parking, which door to go to to get into the driver's seat (I still sometimes go to the wrong side!!). So after a month or two we decided that I needed a MUCH smaller vehicle....and thus we ended up with the adorable little white Nissan March that I have now driven for the past 4 years. It has been such a great little car. We have all learned to drive in it. Our girls all got their licenses using it and Kevin has taught a few people from our church how to drive using this little car. It has definitely served its purpose! And there was no way anyone could speed in it! haha
We had some mechanical troubles with it a while back and our mechanic friend has warned us that more on our their way and so we should consider getting rid of it.... so we went looking for a new car for me.
And this is where my contemplation on the stages of cars in our lives began. When we're young we love the sporty, fun, totally impractical car. It is the beginning of defining who we are. As we grow our families we also grow up ourselves and realize that practicality is number one priority! Kevin and I also realized that being inclusive was also very important to us. We wanted a van big enough to transport our children as well as their friends. Even when we moved here we consciously got a van so that we'd have room to bring others along with us. As we advance in our car-defining phases of life, we pass through the family stage and move back into the 'second youth' stage! lol. We want a car that defines who we are. We no longer have to drive hoards of pre-teen giggling girls to baseball tournaments eating McDonald's and spilling ketchup and fries on the seat. Now we get to have our 'own' car, one that pretty much I am the only person who gets to drive it and make decisions about it! That's kinda fun! So in my contemplating as to what to buy I knew four things for sure. 1. It couldn't be grey, black or white. I wanted COLOR!!! 2. It had to be 5 passenger and 4-door, because let's face it, I'm still really practical and I still do like to take people along. 3. It had to be really comfortable, so that we could take it on road trips if we chose to. 4. It couldn't be too big. So I was very excited to come upon 'Shrek'..... the 4-door, 5 passenger, super comfy, GREEN car!!!! And lo, and behold, it's another Nissan..... so I guess I just have a soft sport for that old yellow little Datsun (Nissan & Datsun are the same) that I started driving 30 years ago (wow, can it really be that long ago!!?!)
Introducing my new car identity! :D
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