It's official............

I've now become what I've always dreaded....I now live the reality of what I always swore I'd never be....I have now destined my children to the fate of a single particular childhood memory I so desperately wanted to spare them....
What is so deserving of all this drama? What could possibly be so bad? What am I tormenting myself over?
I am now a ....... minivan mom. O.M.G. Gasp.
To understand my position, you have to know that I am the oldest in my family. I had the priviledge of claiming the back seat of our Astro van as my very own little moving oasis. Ever since the days when I sat there, either suffocating in the heat or teeth chattering in the cold, I promised myself I'd never drive a minivan, never subject my children to such cruel & unusual punishment. The rare lukewarm summertime drafts that wafted back from the front windows never cooled me enough to shake that resolve. I was NEVER going to drive a minivan. Granted, it was the tiniest improvement on the stationwagons so finely equipped with backwards seats that made you nauseated just to imagine riding in....but, no, NEVER, not a minivan.
Now, I understand that nowadays, minivans have DVD players installed in the back to keep the munchkins oblivious to the world, and heat or A/C can be easily pumped into the farthest seats... but alas, I can't afford one of those. The Van I now have in my possession doesn't even have power locks or windows, let alone a TV screen. It does have a tape player that works like a charm, and it does have double sliding doors (the single best invention since the microwave I think). So, at least my poor children can exit thier new ride from either side. No more tripping over everyone trying to escape The Van.
I'm actually grateful that I no longer have to fight with a 2 door vehicle to put my children in carseats. I'm afraid that I'll actually *shudder* enjoy driving The Van. I think I've officially gone back on the earliest promise I ever made to myself. I think I might just get used to being a minivan mom.....