And forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. ~ Kahlil Gibran



Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Why I am Glad I Drive a Big Ol' Minivan

I usually feel a vague sense of guilt for owning and driving my minivan. I keep thinking I need a smaller car with better gas mileage.

But then there are days like yesterday when I am supremely glad that I drive the big ol' bus.

I got into a car accident yesterday with the kids in the car. The guy who hit us was going pretty fast (probably 30-35 mph), and ended up going right up under my van. It was horribly scary, but we are all okay. My van is okay (just a little damage to the muffler, I gotta get it checked out to see if there are other problems), and though the kids were scared they are fine. I am a little stiff and sore from getting bumped around, but am sure I will be fine.

The other guy's car? Not so good. The whole front end was totally messed up. I kept thinking that if I would have been driving a little disposable car like he had, maybe the kids and I would have been hurt more, or the car would have been un-drivable.

So I am glad that I have a big ol' beast, and that there were Girl Scout Cookies sitting in the back seat. After all, nothing calms frightened kids better than a cookie....

7 comments:

Lisa said...

Glad you all are okay! Hope you had a cookie or twelve yourself!!

Lynne at Hasty Brook said...

Glad you're all safe Barefoot.
So scary.
We saved our old Astro van for our kids to drive. It's not so cool looking for a teen, but it makes me feel better because I know it's SAFE.

The Rambling Taoist said...

I too am very glad you all walked away unscathed. That said, minivans are very bad for the environment. Smaller cars can be safe IF they come with adequate air bags.

Deb said...

I'm glad you are all okay, and that the cookies didn't crumble!

Toriz said...

Hi, I've been reading your blog for a while but I don't comment. Not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't do the word verification thingy due to lack of sight, and the listen and type thing never works properly (not sure if it doesn't work or is just not getting on with my speech programme). Anyway, I had my hubby spare me a moment so I could comment to let you know that you have a great blog that's very interesting to read, and that I'm very glad you and the kids are OK after the accident.

barefoot gardener said...

Lisa-
I was a good Mommy...I gave all the cookies to the Sprouts. It was surreal to have them giggling and munching on cookies while I was shaking and contemplating our mortality, let me tell you....

Lynne-
I hope your kids never need to appreciate how safe the Astrovan is...

RT-
I know, I know. But we got this van for $500, and it runs wonderfully. I really can't afford to go out and get something different right now, so minivan it is...

Deb-
*smile*

Tori_z-
Why, thanks for "delurking" to say howdy! I am so glad you enjoy my blog. I love the quote you have about being born Welsh on your blog. Wales is one of the places on my "If I could go anywhere in the world..." list. :)

RuthieJ said...

Oh gosh Barefoot, that must have been so scary. I'm glad you're all OK and that your van is still drive-able.