With gas being what it is, down a little now but watch out, and auto sales being what they are, almost non-existent, they've come up with a new marketing term. This term was created as an effort to make the mini van more attractive and maybe make us forget that they can use lots of gas. You see, it is not simply a minivan anymore, it is a Family Transporter. Sounds kind of Star Trekish doesn't it? We are in the business of transporting families. Will this make the everyday minivan a little more attractive? Will this make those who doubt the wonderfulness of a minivan quickly get themselves to a car lot and purchase one? Those who swore that they would never own such a thing. Those of us who thought, oh please. Those of us who never dared to picture ourselves driving one. After all they are usually dirty with kids stuff, sticky handprints on windows and of course some show off has written "wash me" on the dust that has accumulated on the back windshield. Cookie crumbs, hamburger bun crust (yes there is such a thing) and a couple of french fries in between the seats where the vaccuum just doesn't reach? No new marketing term no matter how clever or uber sensitive can make those vehicles attractive. Until.......well, you need one. When you discover that they make sense, they suddenly gain an appeal. They're not that ugly. The red one is kind of cute. A TV with DVD in the back, dare I say this borders on cool? OK, I won't go that far. There is just that time in life when a mini van makes total sense.
We went through our share of mini vans. Mitsubishi had a great one with captain seats in the middle that you could fully recline or turn around and face the back seat. Our Econoline was great for all those trips to Colorado. I think somewhere in the middle was a Dodge, red with, I'm afraid to say, wood panel like substance on the sides. However, I would never opt for the racing stripes painted on the sides. Oh, wait, maybe at one point we did.
On this one particular Sunday morning as we were going to church in our mini van, I got a bit overwhelmed. First, just getting everyone in the van, all dressed, no shoes missing, somewhat good attitudes is no small task. Perhaps my hair was combed, who knows. Anyway as I glanced in the back to double check that all were strapped in, the wave of overwhelmness hit. There was this sea of shoes and soccer things and backpacks and mud and maybe a small extra child and mess. I wondered why I couldn't do this better. My husband could tell by the look on my face or the huge loud sigh I let out that all was not well. He asked, what's wrong? "Just look," I answered. "Just look back there and tell me what you see." His calming answer was, "I see three great kids, laughing, all dressed up going to church." Were we in the same van? How did two people see this so differently. However, I liked his view better. His view brought me back to where I needed to be. All was ok, a little messy, but ok.
However you transport your family, enjoy the journey. We've had some great conversations in our "transporting" through the years. Some conversations were of great worth, some were of great sillines. Fun games, songs, you name it, the journey contained it all. This is such a simple theme but maybe one that never gets old. Make stops that are unplanned, play games that just make you laugh, sing songs that don't make sense. More importantly, if you glance back and view a sea of clutter, look beyond it. Look beyond the clutter and keep in your sight the lives you are transporting.