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<\/a><\/p>\nTwelve years ago we brought her home, sparkly and new.\u00a0 She had a 17 inch drop down\u00a0TV screen with a DVD player, pull down shades, mood lighting,\u00a0room for seven people, and plenty of back end space for all our stuff.\u00a0\u00a0 She left today with a dent in the back door, a crack in the windshield,\u00a0 well worn seats, a distinctive family smell, and a couple of nonworking shades; she was well loved!<\/p>\n
We had another van before Bertha.\u00a0 It was the one we got when we discovered we were having quadruplets.\u00a0 We bought it from some wonderful church friends who were moving overseas and needed to sell it.\u00a0 That one was lovingly called, The Baby Boat.\u00a0 My kids have some vague memories of that first van, but Bertha is really the one at the center of all our family adventures!<\/p>\n
Bertha was the van that I drove daily to take the kids to school, occupational and speech therapy, all kind of activities, and the doctor’s office.\u00a0 I drove her\u00a0on lunch dates when it was each child’s special day.\u00a0 She was the vehicle where the kids would sit upside down and pretend they were astronauts.\u00a0 She was the one who always marked our location and told everyone when we were home.\u00a0 She carried us to the park\u00a0to meet\u00a0friends and all of our gear when we went camping.\u00a0 Her seat fit and molded to my butt, making her my most comfortable ride.<\/p>\n
We\u00a0drove her on\u00a0several trips to Colorado for Summer vacations and Christmas celebrations.\u00a0\u00a0 When the kids were little, we would eat an early dinner and start the seventeen hour drive hoping for long bouts of sleep until breakfast time the next morning.\u00a0 Then it was just a quick couple of hours to Grandma and Grandpa’s house where they would play and we would sleep.\u00a0 It mostly worked, except for Nick.\u00a0 He would sit in the very back middle seat with eyes wide open.\u00a0 It was enough to scare any parent awake for a few more hours!<\/p>\n
It was on one of these trips that my kids learned a new word, preemptive.\u00a0 We stopped for gas and my husband told everyone to get out for a preemptive pee.\u00a0 As I looked at the kids, all I could see was\u00a0confusion.\u00a0 I asked them if anyone knew what preemptive meant.\u00a0 In a chorus, they yelled, “No!”\u00a0 We all burst out laughing and\u00a0told Jerry to stop using big words.<\/p>\n
She faithfully transported all of us, plus pets, half way across the country, twice.\u00a0 She took us safely to a friend’s house as we evacuated from Hurricane Rita.\u00a0 She was\u00a0 always dependable.\u00a0 Plus, I could always spot her\u00a0in the parking lot!<\/p>\n But now all the kids are gone and there are just three of us living at home.\u00a0 So for the last year, she has spent most of her time just sitting in our driveway.\u00a0 We\u00a0occasionally took\u00a0her for a spin if we needed to move something large or needed to shuffle cars when the kids came home.\u00a0 Mostly, though,\u00a0she’s been driveway art and a constant reminder of days gone by and adventures past.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u2044\u2044\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u2044\u2044\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u2044\u2044<\/strong><\/p>\n We’re\u00a0on a new journey now.\u00a0 Learning to be a couple again and parents to adult children with their own vehicles.\u00a0\u00a0 It was time to let go.<\/p>\n So today\u00a0I took one last look inside, took in a deep breath, and smiled.\u00a0 I’m so thankful we were able to have her all these years and make such wonderful memories.\u00a0 We\u00a0will never forget her.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Today I said goodbye to an old friend, a trusted companion, a treasured member of the family…our van. Twelve years ago we brought her home, sparkly and new.\u00a0 She had a 17 inch drop down\u00a0TV screen with a DVD player, … Continue reading <\/a>Bertha was also the one who took us to Disney World.\u00a0 We sat in her watching movies one night as Jerry tried to break into our rental house after we had inadvertently locked ourselves out earlier in the day.\u00a0 Fun times!<\/p>\n