The Beauty of a Hippie Van

My youngest and I were stopped at a four-way stop when a lime green VW camper van stopped across the intersection. It was in pretty good shape, well-kept and shiny, with the silver hubcaps and white tire rims contrasting nicely.

My youngest said, "Hey, there's a hippie van. Cool! That looks great, I'd love to have one of those…" The driver didn't dispel the myth, having a very full beard and multi-coloured toque on. I didn't know that my son actually knew what a hippie was.

Three Cars and still walking...

You know, I find myself walking a lot more than I use to these days. I mention this because we have three cars at home and only three drivers, so you’d think I’d be able to drive around more than I walk.

Now before you get any ideas, I am not a car collector and having three cars isn’t as extravagant as you might think. None of our cars are of this century, for one. The closest we have is a 1999 Toyota. The other two are from 1993 and 1991, respectively. We managed with two cars for a long time, until the twins got their licences.

A Sod Story

Sod. I love sod. I’d forgotten how much I love sod. I’m not talking about the stuff you have to cut out of your yard when you put in a new sidewalk or a new driveway. That sod is usually uneven, in small, oddly shaped octagonal pieces that never seem to go down in the same pattern they came up from. It also has brown patches in the weirdest places, making your lawn look like a bizarre chessboard or Twister game.

Ripping Impaired

I have a confession to make. I am ripping-impaired. It’s something I’ve tried to deny for many years, but now it’s time to face up to it.

I think I’ve always had trouble ripping things cleanly. Heck, cleanly was never even close. I would be happy with neatly, but even that is usually beyond me. Doesn’t matter if there are perforations or not. Short of scissors, anything I try to make into two pieces will end up in strange and unusual sizes.

Summer Vacations

Now that it's June, I see summer vacations with a parent's eye. This of course, is far different than a kid's viewpoint. Vacations for kids are seemingly endless days of summer, each day lasting approximately 3.2 years. Those days allow for bike rides, ball games, hours on the gaming consoles and double feature videos just about every night. Throw in the one or two camping trips and the whole summer vacation is complete (as long as there is an internet wi-fi site nearby).

Now it's all making sense. I remember seeing my folks looking a bit wild-eyed around the middle of June - I mean, more than usual. When I did think about it, I passed it off as one of those weird things parents do on occasion. Then I went back to my Chocolate Coated Sugar Bomb and Marshmallow Cereal for breakfast. I was happy.

Now I know.