What My Van REALLY Says About Me

Like everything else in my life, my van is a disaster.  It's far from perfect and I avoid cleaning it because with in five minutes of it being cleaned, The Princess and The Boy have trashed it again.   Despite telling myself I don't give a shit it's not perfect, it bothers the hell out of me. Or it did, until someone gave me a different perspective.

I was dropping my daughter off at school in carpool the other day and the teacher helping her out of the van commented that my van was messy. I was a little embarrassed until she told me not to be.  She said her car was just as messy and that it was a sign she would rather spend time with her kids. EXACTLY!

I spend LOTS of time with my kids!

Maybe too much time!

Since therapy is all about being analytical, I thought I'd share what else my van says about me.

This big dent in the side of my van says if I ever had an extra $500 laying around I wouldn't spend it on the insurance deductible to get this dent fixed.

This is the third seat. It is also my traveling bed.  Very often I find myself traveling for work and if I haven't had enough sleep the night before, I fall asleep at the wheel.  See the comfy pillow and blankets back there?  They come in quite handy when I need to find a parking lot somewhere and get some more sleep.  Usually an hour or so and then I'm good to go the rest of the day.

This is my broken pilot's seat.  I can't move the seat forward or backward. This, along with the dent pictured above (oh and the windshield cracked in two places) are proof to my mother in law that we waste money. You see, if we would stop wasting money on private school and therapy for two people, we could afford to fix my van.  It also annoys her that the one time she visits and stays for three days, she needs cushions to help her reach the pillows. Oh fucking well!

Finally, this is the back of my van.   I use it as storage for all the shit I'm too lazy to haul in and clutter my house with.  Also, if I brought this stuff in, I'd have to put it away. I'm too busy spending time with my kids to put shit away. This is also where I stash gifts. Unfortunately, The Boy has caught on to this, so now I have use a blanket to cover things up.  You can also tell that I like shopping at Target.

So from now on, I'm not going to be embarrassed about my van.  Whenever I criticize myself for it not being cleaner and dent free, I'm going to remind myself that the time I spend with my kids cuddling, laughing and playing in the yard is going to mean more than a pretty van. I would rather spend my money on private school and therapy (ok, not really, but given the choices I have) than on fixing dents and cracks. If my MIL doesn't like it, she can pay to have it all fixed!