In this month of gratefulness and year of craziness, I am of course most thankful for my dear family, friends and health. But this November, I give extra great thanks for our minivan of seven years, “Snow White,” who is now awaiting her next loving family.
It may seem a silly thing to be saddened by the loss of a car, but “Snow White” was not just a car, she was so much more.
For seven years Snow White (and God) kept us safe as I navigated many roads, both literally and figuratively. Our girls met Snow White when they were six, eight and ten. They were little things then still in car seats and booster seats. Little things thinking how cool the movie screen was and little things who called the sliding doors “magic doors.” Little things thinking what a cool car we had!
Our journey in that minivan got us through some life disappointments, but even more life celebrations. She got us through elementary school, middle school (almost, half a year left for Ashley), and almost all of Emily’s high school and half of Katy’s. She got us through bullies, first boyfriends, boyfriend break-ups, best friend breakups and finding new forever friends. Our journey in that minivan got us through making sports teams, making audition choir, and through two kids learning to drive. She got us through our devastating loss of Murphy and the joy of finding Dillon and Willie.
If she were a book, our minivan would have chapters and chapters of whispered conversations that sometimes lasted long past pulling in the driveway. She would have stories of wonder, surprises and celebrations, and stories of tears that could not be shed until safely inside her doors. She would tell you how the girls learned that the magic of Santa is still alive, even when for a minute they thought it wasn’t, and she would tell you that life isn’t always easy, but that it also is wonderful.
Snow White was my second home. My mamma minivan. I probably spent more hours in her than I did in my actual house. Truly. She was a place I had quiet time in between driving others, and a place in which I said many prayers. A place I waited in to hear good news, and bad. And a place where I had hugs waiting for either one. Inside Snow White I had incredible conversations and one on one activities with each of my wonderful daughters. She saw me through my Angel Therapy business and Angel Events and also was the car that carried the boxes of my first book and card deck “Mom is Enough,” to UPS to send to Amazon, and the car that helped me deliver “Mom is Enough” books and intuitive cards to the stores that now sell them.
Snow White was a place the girls could slide into after school, after practice, after friends/parties and let out a sigh of relief or share stories with animated voices and faces. A place where full on belly laughter was contagious and music blared. A place where we sang along to Veggie Tales in 2014 and sang explicit tunes in 2020 (that I still am not sure why we were playing), and a place where I may have swerved the car a little bit as we were yelling with windows open along quiet roads.
This trustworthy minivan kept us safe for carpools, family road trips, camping, family ice cream outings and so much more. She got us through a few scary trips to the hospital, doctor’s visits, vacations, and hour-long traffic jams coming down from the mountains. She held luggage, coolers, water bottles, sports equipment, sleds, skis, dogs, dog kennels, and even our two rabbits. Lost clementines rotted under her seats and made her smell deadly until they were eventually found, and if you ever needed a hair tie you could always find one somewhere.
Snow White withstood my horrible spatial skills scraping her sides while trying to get into our narrow garage and forgave me when I hit curbs or rocks or when I left her running by accident after I got out. Nothing phased her. She was a place whose “magic doors” protected us from the outside world, saw our true selves (all sides of us!), kept us warm, and brought us safely home every single day.
The memories I have in this car with Craig, the girls, our girls’ friends, my friends, the dogs…. these memories will last a lifetime and I will be forever grateful.
It was an amazing seven years Snow White, and I promise you will never, ever be forgotten.
Blessings to all of my readers and wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for your continued support of me and my writing. I am thankful for each of you.
Love,
Kristy