King Bluey went Ka-bluey! For the love of the Ol Blue Van!

A few weeks ago the girls & I were in a minor car accident.  We were hit from behind by a crying high school girl.  I'm not sure if the accident made her cry or it was something else, but she sure was crying when I got out of my van with that "what DID YOU just DO?" look on my face.  Quickly realizing that she was a person & not some wild animal or a force of evil that would have to reckon with me I assured her, as I picked up my Chrysler symbol that had fallen off the car,  everything was all right, we were all right, and she was all right. Then I told her I had to call the police to have an official report...but everything was going to be ALL RIGHT.

I call the police to file a report for even the most minor of accidents.  I think it's from my years of growing up in Miami. It is better to have an accident documented by the police than to have to deal with the following on your own:

These actually happened to me, a close friend, and a family member...

1.  A man yelling at you because he hit you from behind because YOU were going to fast.  Ummm, its quite obvious I wasn't going fast enough because you hit me...from behind...3 times.

2. A car accident where the people in the other car drive off leaving you alone thinking you are dealing with a hit and run, only to have them return with a completely different car...and some different people as a bonus. 

3. an accident that might even had been your fault, the police come to make a report.  When the insurance company contacts you for information they say that the other people in the accident are claiming 3 people were in the car instead of the just the 1 person who was in the accident. It's okay though, the other driver is just suing the insurance company for $100,000,000. In case you don't feel like counting all of those zeros that's 100 million dollars (insert Austin Power's laugh here). This actually went on for years even though there was a police report filed with the accurate number of vehicle occupants. 

A friend comes to pick up my girls, the police come, reports are written, tears are dried, and we are all on our happy merry way.  I was sure my 10 year old van was just a little crumpled in the back and could be fixed, maybe not perfectly, but probably easily. After all a saggy back end on my old van wouldn't be the worst thing, right?

WRONG!

The van is totaled.  It had something to do with cracks, and foam, and fires, and all kinds of words I didn't want associated with a vehicle my family and I ride around in for a good portion of our lives. 

The insurance company asks us to come clean out our personal belongings from the van & collect our insurance money to put toward a new one.  So, I take my 2 daughters and head to the collision center.  My youngest is quite upset.  She gets attached to things.  Yes attached to people, but things too. She is very upset about the van. The van she named Bluey, or rather King Bluey.  She wants to know what will happen to it.  This is the point my oldest daughter explains what happens to a salvaged vehicle and then goes on to elaborate on organ donation.  By then my youngest, "Little Red", is quite upset and wails of distress can be heard for miles around.  She wants a family picture with the van before it goes off to the big salvage yard in the sky.

Giving some love to King Bluey before we say our final goodbyes.

Now, mind you, this van was PAID OFF. A new vehicle was not what we were expecting to pay for right now. The Lord, however, is in control.  This did not surprise Him in the least. God has this, and like with all things we must trust in Him. So, Craig & I start to pray that the Lord will guide us to the right vehicle, one we can afford, one that will be good for our family.  

Things have changed a lot since we bought Ol' King Bluey! I absolutely loved shopping for a new vehicle on the internet and we had one picked out, put on hold, and financed before we changed out of our pajamas on car shopping day.  We've only had it for 6 days, but I already love it.  My girls love it too. Even Little Red.  She likes that the windows roll down and she can wave to each person we pass like she's in a parade (we were down to just 1 window on Ol' Blue) She likes that both doors open automatically (also had been down to 1). This van is black and sparkles green, pink, and gold flecks in the sun.  We have no idea what to name it. I think we need time to get to know it first. I started reading the owner's manual the other day (Yes, I'm a nerd like that). I'm pretty sure our new van has more controls than the first space shuttle.  I'm learning all the features little by little.  The other day it started to sprinkle and my wind shield wipers went off automatically. It started raining harder and they went faster. It has a DVD player and a Blu Ray player.  We don't even have a Blue Ray player in our home.  After reading about the programmable pedal adjusters I became overwhelmed. Now I like to get to carpool early in the afternoon and work on a new feature. Yesterday I programmed all the preset radio stations. Today I'm going to work on setting the clock. Now, that's what I call progress, folks!

So, we are figuring out each day, step by step, feature by feature, and learning the best way to deal with what comes our way.