S A M A N T H A V E L O i R A

Mar 29

Trading in the van.

I dont think i’ve ever had a moment so bitter-sweet. Ive been waiting and wanting a new car, but doing so we have to trade in the van. It honestly symbolizes so much.

We initially got the van for my mom so we can have comfortable road trips together, as a family. One of the first things she did was hang the med-sized crystal that she had gotten from a date with my dad years ago on the rear view mirror. The van was used on a daily basis once we bought it, and we all instantly loveed it. When my mom got sick, she was not allowed to drive as much anymore because all the medications she was given could have impaired her driving skills. Over time she was not only recommended not to drive, but was in a physical state when she could not even get the energy to get up and drive. Months later, after my mom passed away and seldom did we ever ride in the van. We would go months with the van parked in the driveway, with out being touched or driven.

It was not used until one summer when my brothers, father and I took the van down to LA on a road trip. It was the most fun I’ve ever had with my brothers and Dad in awhile. After that trip, the van was starting to be used a little more for family drives to visit Mom, other fairly long drives, and Aj and Chris would use it whenever their cars broke down and were in the shop. As we got older, the van was mostly used between Chris and Aj, driving with their friends to weekend adventures.

When I started pursuing my license, my father bought me a Honda Accord. We only had that car for a couple months, because withing the first week of ownership it was stolen, and stolen again within a 4 months period after that. When I finally got my license, I drove the van. I would complain here and there about it being too big, that it guzzles up too much gas, but I knew come graduation time, I would get a new car. Months closer and close to graduation my dad said he was looking for the perfect car for me, but financially we could not afford it. I was not too devastated, I still had the van to drive. It always came in handy when I went out with all my friends, anyways. Every couple weeks, a new person would make fun of my ‘soccer mom van’, that the name eventually stuck. One of the biggest highlights of senior year was the countless amounts of memories made in my van. Every day after school we would go out to eat in my van. All of spring break, we rode in my van. Soon enough, we were taking trips to San Jose, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, and even San Diego with my van. All those years it was sitting in the driveway, was being made up for now. It was then considered mine, and I was driving it all over the place. The van was my first car. Its almost been 2 years since I’ve been driving the van, and we had a blast. I don’t think I could have asked for a better first car. Sure it wasn’t too ‘cool’, not the best gas- saver.. But it most definitely generated a lot of memories.

Last Monday when my dad called me and told me we’re getting me my new car, words can not explain how ecstatic I was. He told me we were trading in the Van, and I didn’t care, I was getting a new car. A couple factors pushed the date of getting my new car a couple days later, but I did not mind. When we were talking about cleaning out the van before the trade, my dad reminded me to take the med-sized crystal ball with me, and that’s when it hit. All that my van symbolized, all the memories within my van, are no longer going to be there. As my dad said that, everything flashed before me, and my eyes became moist. It was not until that moment did I realize how much the van has been through with our family, and even with my friends. Never, has a moment ever been so bittersweet.