Me, I am my kids' teacher

When it comes to our 12-year-old and seven-year-old cars, our attitude could be summarized as
"doom and gloom."

Transmissions and motors and exhaust systems, oh my.

These problems are growing more frequent and are chipping away at our resolve to NEVER take on another car payment.

Common scenario is:
car has squeak, noise, slips out of gear, that sort of thing.
yours truly lives in a state of denial for as long as possible
car breaks
towing professionals are called
we live as a one-car family ... and explore whether we could adjust to the lifestyle permanently
we pre-determine "how much we'll spend this time to keep it running" for one more day, or, maybe five more years!

An uncommon scenario occurred this week.
Stan drove home in the older car with all systems in working order. We were all in the yard so the kids do what they always do ... run to the car, get in or on, and "drive," very gingerly, the rest of the way up the driveway. Dad stops the car to accommodate the ritual.

Car dies. Start car. Car dies. Start Car. Car dies.

Yours truly stands in the front yard in a fit of hysterics. The laughing kind. It's much easier than crying. Giles suggests the car is out of gas. We blow him off because we are conditioned to gloom and doom.

We push car out of the way and ignore the problem for the evening. Towing professionals could come tomorrow, and of course, I think the car will magically start the next day with no human intervention. And I pray for such a miracle.

Stan mulls over the problem. Stresses out about the money, getting another vehicle, etc., while I continue ignoring/laughing about it.

Next morning. He wonders ... is it out of gas?

We dare grasp the possibility.

Sure enough. This time there is grace.
Cost of repair: one tank of gas and a little embarrassment.

Thanks Giles. We'll listen to you next time.

Posted in: on Friday, March 16, 2007 at at 9:59 AM