Farewell My Van

My van was picked up by its new owners yesterday. No more sliding doors for me! You may recall I have posted about it before. I've never loved it but it certainly served its purpose.

We got it 5 years ago when Jaz had scoliosis surgery and we weren't allowed to pick her up for fear that the rods in her back could dislodge. She had to be hoisted in a sling and stay in her wheelchair until they were sure it had fully healed. So it was farewell to the Pajero - which I was very fond of - and hello to the van. I always thought if I had to drive a van, this was definitely the pick of them. Fortunately, Mercedes was a client of the agency I worked for at the time and helped me out by finding an ex-demo that I could actually afford.

We also then had a hydraulic lift fitted. None of this is a secret - I did tell the new owners who thought the bracket to hold the lift's remote control was a bottle opener! We had the lift taken out less than a year later when Jazzy died.

It was then handy for George's wheelchair too, as it was easy enough to fling in the back behind the third row of seats where there was still plenty of room and a surprisingly low floor.

But I do have some great memories:

• The Cubs loved it when I was with Scouts. 'What happens in the van, stays in the van,' they'd say (ie eating lollies I'd bought them at the petrol station.)

• I had a whole routine for Sass and her friends:
   'Welcome aboard flight Mother Who Works, destination school. Please ensure your seat belt is firmly fastened, your seat upright, table stowed and all hand luggage secured. In the unlikely event of an incident, please follow the instructions of the flight crew. Should we lose cabin pressure, a mask will drop from the compartment above. Place it over your nose and mouth and breath normally.... blah, blah, blah. Estimated time of the flight, approximately five minutes. Thank you for choosing to fly with Mother Who Works."
  The kids thought it was hilarious - even when it was repeated again and again and again. 

• I loved that 'Don't make me come back there!' was never an idle threat
• I've driven Elle and her friends to parties and collected an entire van full of them in the middle of the night
• We've been camping with a trailer hitched on the back and the canoe and tables on the roof
• Around the neighbourhood, everyone knew the van and when we were out and about
• It's trucked teams of advertising peeps around town (many who think they're rock stars requiring a van!!) and served as the mobile office on many an occasion

But with just the two girls now, we don't need it and I'm not sad to say goodbye. I think it could almost drive from our house to The Royal Children's Hospital on auto-pilot. And the family who bought it are just lovely, so I'm glad it's gone to a happy home. 

My new (second hand) car is a black 4WD with a black interior and seats a mere five. Not even any flip out seats. Just five. And it feels so zippy!! But I can't change the radio station or work the heater and I keep setting off the windscreen wipers. I've even managed to immobilise it when we were late for a meeting...ahhhhh!!!

So it's so long to my van and hello to a whole new, annoying learning curve....