Driving in the snow, I look in my rearview and talk to the kids.
“You know, I’m lucky. I had a really awful beat up car when I was young. It had a big dent in the side. Sometimes I had to start it on a downward incline to pop the clutch.”
They look at me funny. They don’t know what “pop the clutch” means. They’ve never had a car break down, leaving them stranded, (such was my life for way too long).
I continue.
“When it snowed, I would take it into empty parking lots, and drive around, swerving, hitting the breaks hard, letting it spin out, getting a feel for how to drive in the snow. It’s why I’m not nervous driving in the snow today. I wouldn’t have gotten that experience with a nice car. I’d have been afraid to damage it.”
They smile.
“So you see, I didn’t like having a crappy car back then, but the experience really served me.”
Riley says, “I hope when I’m sixteen I’ll get a car.”
Seth asks her, “What kind do you think you’ll get?”
Before she can answer I interject cheerfully, “Hopefully a beater!”
Silence for a while and then Riley says,
“Mom, I’d really prefer a nice car….no offense.”
~
*Photo from http://www.bestcarsguide.com
I got a beater, well kinda. My family all had green hondas. My dad has an ’00 accord, my mom had an odyssey until the transmission gave out for the 3rd time last year, i have a ’96 civic and my sister has a ’95 accord. My mom decided to break loose with a new honda cr-v that is black. Such a rebel.
Best way to learn and I like pre-owned way better anyways, that way they have a little experience! I wish Donny could have bought a honda. His chevy malibu gives him all kinds of trouble.
🙂 This reminded me of the audi we had that I had to hit the starter motor with a hammer to get going…. Ahh, those were the days! Now we have a landrover that you have to poke the fuses every so often to get the windscreen wipers to behave….
Love this… all of blogs (that I have read) have something about gratitude in them… it helps me alot to go through my day with more of that…thanks
Love it!!!! I am laughing because nothing beats my old green Dodge “dart”!!! My friends still talk about that car.And as my 15 year old daughter watches many of her friends get brand new or almost new cars I happily share my stories while she rolls her eyes.I am reminded again that wisdom comes with age. Thanks Mom and Dad!!!
My ’77 Ford Maverick, dubbed the “Renegade”, carried me and my friends around the back roads of Ohio for many moons. I bought transmission fluid by the case for that thing. It alsways looked like the scene of a murder wherever I parked it.
Cheryl,
I learned to drive in your Dart in the SV High parking lot. I loved that car!
Meg…too funny.
Amanda, the hammer. Nice touch.
Yes Kristen, Hondas are good.
Chris…thankful…yes. Everyday. For cars that run and so much more.
I had….are you ready….a Mercury Zephyr.
It had a screw driver permanently (and purposefully) wedged in the ignition. It was the only way it would run!
Michelle, I think I may have been in your beater doin’ donuts in the parking lot a time or two!
I don’t cherish those memories now that my children are driving! I worry they are going to try to be typical teens and do that stuff! LOL
I did the same thing with my car when I was in high school, I was so nervous about the snow I just had to try a few things out to get a feel for what would happen! Didn’t stop my heart from dropping into my stomach when I did a 360 on a ROAD, but I did keep my cool…until I stopped spinning! Then I screamed!
I lover her “no offense” at the end!
Can it top the ’76 Plymouth Volare, orange with “wood” sides that I drove around for YEARS??
i love you.
🙂
Very interesting entry, I look forward to the next! Thx for share