Good-bye Mini

Yesterday we traded in our minivan for a new car.  I have never been your typical car person.  I've always felt that a car just needs you get you from point A to point B.  It needs to be reliable, practical and safe.  I don't really care what color it is or if it has any bells or whistles.  Just want something to get me where I need to go.

In 2006 we had a 3 year old, a new baby, and an unreliable car.  Tod and I decided that it may be time to get a minivan.  I never thought I would be one of 'those minivan moms'.  After test driving just about every minivan that was on the market I decided on the Dodge Grand Caravan.  The dealership had 3 to chose from.  My decision basically came down to color and automatic doors.  If I was going to have to trade in my Cool Card for a minivan I was getting automatic doors/tailgate and it was going to be black (the coolest car color out there!).

Over the next couple of years I was so in awe over my power doors and tailgate.  My life of loading groceries, kids, and overall stuff became so much easier.  Press a button it opens. Press it again it closes.  Ahhh.

Then after another couple of years and I had burned the motor out of the automatic doors.  I was back to manually opening doors.  I have learned my lesson.  Bells and whistles can be more of a headache than a bonus. 

The minivan was a very reliable vehicle for us.  We only had one hiccup.  We broke down in Lexington, KY (only an hour away from our destination).  We were able to pull into a gas station and call our insurance company for a tow truck.    A very scary man with a giant tow truck came to rescue us.  With the four of us crammed in the cab with the scary driver, our minivan was taking the ride of its life.  We cut through rush hour traffic, did illegal U-turns, and took corners at top speed.  All with white knuckles in the cab, but you could almost hear the minivan saying, "wheeeeeee".

We ended up at the scary tow truck drivers shop.  As we drove into the car shop and the chain link fence gate closed behind us I got a little scared.  Three very frightening men took the minivan off the truck and quickly got to work.  These were the roughest men I had ever seen and none of them remembered to put their teeth in that morning.  They told us that it would take about 24 hours to fix.  We called Tod's parents and they came to our rescue.

The next day Tod and I went to reclaim the minivan.  The shop manager (yes, he was toothless too) gave us a detailed list of everything that they had to do to the minivan.  He explained what happened and why. We chatted for a while with him and his mother.  We found out that this was a new family auto repair business and they were just getting their business started.  We were their first customer.  They were thankful, gracious and unexpectedly professional.  When I got back in the minivan I noticed that they had washed it and vacuumed the inside. After a 8 hour car ride you can imagine how dirty the INSIDE of the minivan was.  This "breakdown" taught me a valuable lesson on not judging a book by it's cover.

So I say goodbye to our beloved minivan.  It taught me that going back to the basics just makes life easier and that there is a simple goodness in people no matter what package they come in.   

Just Dreaming

Have you ever had one of those dreams that just stick with you?   It is a little too strange to ignore.  Well the other night I had one of those dreams.

My Great Uncle Harold was in my dream.  We always called him Uncle Brother because my Grandmother called him Brother her whole life.  It just seemed so natural to have an Uncle Brother and I never thought it was weird until one of my friends pointed out how odd it truly was.

Anyway...my dream took place at my Uncle Brother and Aunt June's back yard.  Uncle Brother approached me with his horse Pepper in tow.  I remember Pepper.  He was a tall white horse with back specks on his back end.  Uncle Brother handed me the reins and said to me in his slow Southern accent, "It is now your turn to take over."  I took the reins and he tipped his hat to me and strolled away. 

That is it.  It may be nothing but the dream was so vivid.  I even did some research to find some possible meanings to my dream. 

To dream of Horses -

To see a horse in your dream symbolizes strength, power, endurance.  It also represents a strong, physical energy. You need to tame the wild forces within. The dream may also be a pun that you are "horsing around". Alternatively, to see a horse in your dream indicates that you need to be less arrogant and "get off your high horse".

If the horse is white, then it signifies purity, prosperity and good fortunes.

To dream of an Uncle -

To see your uncle in your dream represents some aspect of your family heritage and trait. It also symbolizes new ideas and emerging awareness. Consider the idiom "say uncle" to mean surrender or admit defeat.

I am not sure how to put these pieces together and not sure if I really want to know it's specific meaning.  I just can't get the image of this dream out of my head. 

Last night Uncle Brother and Pepper crept into my dreams again.  This time he said to me, "Please take care of everything." Then handed me the reins, tipped his hat, and strolled away.  

Hmmm...

Now I really can't stop thinking about what this dream could possibly mean.

Today at lunch, Brady and I went to Panda Express.    After eating I cracked open my fortune cookie.  My message : YOU WILL RECEIVE A MESSAGE FROM A GREAT DISTANCE.  Ok. Now I am completely freaked out.  I need to figure out what this message is and how to handle it.  What am I supposed to do with the reins. 

Maybe tonight I will get some answers.....