Van, go

Sienna turned over 100,000 miles last month, remember? So Murphy's Law says everything is supposed to start to go.

Remember back in the winter of 2007 when I went to open the hatchback and felt something springy unspring and the door didn't open. But I wasn't concerned because I figured I'd just have to open it using the key and so what? Minor inconvenience, but certainly the better option to going and fixing it. Only it wouldn't open with the key, either. No secret button or latch inside. No, the hatchback would forever stay closed unless I had it repaired.

One day last spring, I did happen to stop by the shop to get an estimate on having it fixed. Because it was kind of getting to be a nuisance putting all the groceries in and around the seats of the van. And what if I ever needed to transport something big? Yes, I could remove the seats from one of the passenger doors, but if the item was longer than the van's interior length, then I'd need to have that hatchback open.

But I couldn't get an accurate estimate because they didn't know how long it would take them to figure out how to open the door. The cost for the part it itself was about $100, but it could take hours and hours to figure out how to get it unlocked. And then of course, they would need to likely remove the inside of the door to be able to replace what needed to be replaced, and then put it all together again. $300? $400? $600? Maybe, maybe not.

I decided I could live with continuing to put the groceries in the passenger seat area.

Amazingly, it passed its 2008 inspection without serious financial intervention other than the standard fees because whoever did the inspection apparently didn't try to open the hatchback.

Then last fall, one of the front tires went flat and I was eventually forced to replace two tires.

But whoever did the inspection last year didn't do it this year because whoever did it this year did try to open that broken hatchback and of course, failed. "The van won't pass inspection unless all doors are functional," I was told. Like it or not, the hatchback had to be fixed.

So, Sienna earned her 2009 sticker after one new battery, 2 new tires, an oil change and a new hatchback lock. Surely I could get another year out of her as long as I was gentle with her. It doesn't have air condition, but so what? It didn't last summer, either, but I survived. And unless I can get the broken seatbelt in one of the passenger seats to give a little, nobody is allowed to sit there.

Our garage is very narrow. Before I pull it in to park, all passengers exit the vehicle in the driveway. Last Monday, Jeffrey was the last to get out, so he proceeded to close the passenger door. Remember, this is a 9-year-old van. Those fancy automatic doors didn't hit the market until the following year or so. Anyway, as is the routine, everybody gets out and heads inside through the garage and when Jeffrey didn't follow his brothers into the house, I turned to see what was holding him up. And there he stood beside the van, two hands holding onto what was the door handle, up in front of his face in proportion to where it came off the door. His face showed a mixture of shock and fear. I know he was thinking it was not right that he was holding the handle in his hands and wondering what my reaction would be to it breaking.

I rolled my window down, put my hand out. "Let me have it. Don't worry about it, it broke before, it was bound to break again eventually." He handed me the handle before running inside.

I've gotten very good at opening the passenger side door by sticking my arm through the front driver's door. Likewise, I've gotten even better at closing it without catching my fingers in the door.

Still, I just know she can go another year.