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We had a terrific trip to the West Coast just a couple of weeks ago, and ever since, I've been kind of down in the dumps. "Back to Reality" syndrome, I guess. Back to work. Back to school. Back to the daily grind, in general. I had to laugh on our way home from the airport, though. My husband had gone to long-term parking to get the car while the girls and I waited for the luggage to make its way around the carousel. Then, we waited outside for him for just a few minutes until he pulled up to the curb.

We climbed in our van, and my 15-year-old looked visibly stressed. Figuring she was tired from the long day of travel like I was, I decided to "cheer everyone up" by asking a question (typical kneejerk mom response, I know...).

Princess Peg: So, girls, what were your favorite things on the trip? Let's think about what we did. (We often do this - in as much of an effort to get us all to appreciate what we did as anything else...I started ticking off the many things that we did on the trip.)

Princess in Waiting: I liked San Francisco. Everything we did in the city was great.

Princess Peg: OK, that's not a big surprise, since you want to live there some day. How about you? (turning to her younger sister)

Tween in Line: I liked Alcatraz - and my pedicure at the spa.

Princess in Waiting: Oh, yeah, the spa was great, too.

Princess Peg: Yeah, that was fun.

Princess in Waiting: And you can't forget the 4 hour dinners. (smirking...)

(Here, she refers to one of the several dinners out that we had with extended family while in the wine country. Yes, the dinners did last a while, but I don't recall any lasting 4 hours...)

Tween in Line: Oh, yeah, and ALL of the wine tastings...(egging her older sister on)

(Um, yeah, like we poured a bunch of wine down their underage throats. Right. So, we took them to 2 vineyards. You'd of thought we had paraded them from one to the next all week long. Two vineyards turned into "ALL of the wine tastings...")

Princess Peg: OK, so you didn't love the wine tastings. Any other "lowlights"?

Princess in Waiting: Yeah. Just now when we got back.

PP: What do you mean?

P in W: Well, we were standing there waiting for Dad, and everything was great. And then, he pulled up, and it was like, "Oh, geez. There it is. Our van. We still own that van. I just wanted to run away. It was like "back to reality."

Again. You'd have thought that we were driving a major clunker - with billowing smoke trailing out the back and graffiti on the sides. It is getting old. I'd like to replace it. In fact, I'd love it if I never had to own another minivan in my entire life. However, I'd also like to send my kids to college. Priorities.

P in W: It was just so nice driving the rental all week. It was a car I could actually be proud to walk up to. And now, well...now, here we are again.

(There are no visible dents or major scratches on our minivan. It is simply old.)

Big Strong Man: Hey, it could be worse! We could have the "Milk Carton on Wheels" variety of minivan. (dripping with cheerfulness)

Both Girls: What? (not even trying to mask the contempt in their voices)

BSM: You know, the rectangle vans on wheels. They look like milk cartons. Or worse yet, a "Dustbuster Van". At least ours is newer than that. And it's paid for.

The girls give him a look like he's the dorkiest dad on the planet and slink further down in their seats. He's grinning from ear to ear, enjoying their dismay immensely..

Ah, the minivan blues. When we replace this car, I truly hope to never own one again. And then, I'll never have to have the minivan blues ever again. Nevah...