Reflections on Driving a Minivan

Saturday I randomly lost power steering in my own car, so today saw me driving out of the driveway in a green minivan.

This was no biggie, really. My main impression as I started was how BIG I felt. As I drove things seemed fine, I just noticed that it took a little more to stop a vehicle that much bigger than my usual one.

But as the day progressed, the differences between driving a van and a car started to become more and more apparent.

First of all, I really don't think anything of it when I blow by some slow driver during my normal commute. But today I felt strange passing people in a minivan. Wouldn't they think it annoying to be blown away by a minivan? I'm always annoyed when a minivan or a semi passes me. Those kind of vehicles are supposed to be driven slowly. Minivan drivers aren't supposed to go 70! They're supposed to be being protective of their 28 children.

That children thing was what really got me, I think. As I pulled into the school I felt like I should be arriving with my 37 children, and unpacking them and their multiple bags, lunches, projects, etc. But instead I just hopped out and went in for another day of teaching. Weird.

On my way home I ran some errands, and was intrigued at how my thought process differed depending on the establishment at which I was shopping. As I came out of Ritz I felt a little embarrassed to be getting into a minivan. I didn't want people thinking I was something I wasn't (i.e. a mom with 43 children). But then, coming out of Morning Star I felt more embarrassed about the fact that I wasn't wearing a wedding ring. Strange, don't you think? I felt like, if I was driving a minivan, and therefore declaring the fact that I had 59 children, I definitely needed to be wearing a ring!

But when all was said and done, I was happy to be driving a car with power steering. Wrestling a car around corners in a parking lot is not a job for the faint of heart (or faint of muscle).