Rocking out

B and I both own newish Hondas. My car--or the one that I most often use--is the minivan. Trusty and practical, it has enough room for all our strollers and sand toys and even the travel potty. Plus it's white, so as not to retain to much heat or show too much dirt. It's also a giant MOM beacon. B's car is a zippy Fit, fast and flexible and shiny jet black. Can you already tell where this is going?

I understand that the minivan is the most sensible car for me. I love that the doors slide open and that we can move throughout the cabin when need be. It's handy that we can take a potty break in the back or carry extra friends.

But I've noticed recently that both cars have a variable feature for stop lights. On the minivan, the windshield wipers, which come in a slew of intermittent settings, slow down. How very safe. On B's Fit, the radio automatically lowers the volume, so as the road noise decreases, you don't blow out your eardrums. This is especially helpful to me, because I drive the Fit when I'm without the kids, and when I do, I turn that radio up so loud that the windows shake and my ears just slightly hurt. And I'm now understanding one more thing: I'm the kind of person who needs to drive without kids, without practically, and with eardrum blowing music lowering very thoughtfully for me. At least sometimes. It'll be too fun when the kids get old enough for me to let them in on Mommy's little secret.