Wonders, Mishaps, Blunders and Joy.. commentary on my life as a mom in the form of letters to my son
This is super fun, if only my feet could reach the pedals.
You know who’d be really good at this…
“How can I help, little buddy?”
Daddy & Lucas win the race!
This post is part of my homework for Week 2 of Kludgy Mom’s Back to School/Back to Blogging workshop. I chose the Idea Bank writing prompt: My First Car, which was suggested by Cheryl at Scrubby Brush.
In Spring of 1993, my last living grandparent, my mother’s mother passed away. With the inheritance that my mother received, she and my father paid off their stateside home in Arizona, what little debt they had, my entire college tuition and offered to buy me my very first car.
I was told I could spend $20,000 and that I could get anything I wanted and I had three months to figure it out. A young person’s ultimate dream, right?
I started test driving everything… the Toyota Paseo, Saturns, a Ford Mustang, the Nissan Sentra, a Honda CRX, an Isuzu Rodeo, the Acura Intega and the only car I really had my heart set on: the all new, completely redesigned and adorable Volkswagen Carbio convertible.
The car that Cindy Mancini drives in Can’t Buy Me Love.
The car made for a college girl.
The car that was fun to drive, super cute and had side impact airbags.
And. It came in the most beautiful shade of navy blue. My favorite color! It also had automatic transmission and a CD player.
I poured over the glossy brochure, visited the Volkswagen dealership so many times that you would have thought I worked there and test drove over and over, each time falling deeper and deeper in love.
I enjoyed the way the air hit my face and messed up my hair when the top was down and how quiet it was when the top was up. I wanted this car so badly and was so proud of myself for doing my research, getting to know all the other cars in my price range and staying under budget.
My dream almost became a reality…
In June of 1994, my parents returned to Arizona from Mozambique for their summer break and it was time to go car shopping.
I had to, with the help of the car salesman, convince my parents of the safety features. They were deeply concerned (as they should have been) about the fact that my dream car was a convertible. This turned out not to be as hard as I thought it was going to be and so came time for the negotiations.
I will never forget sitting in the showroom going over the price of the car thinking, “I’m going to get this car. Oh my God, I’m going to get this car!”, when the inevitable and dreadful “let me take this figure to my manger” moment came up. This went a few rounds and no one was budging.
The color I wanted wasn’t on the lot and would have to be ordered. The salesman said that it would require an $800 deposit. My dad wrote a check and handed to the salesman, I would like to believe in an effort to show his good faith and as a last ditch effort to get the dealership to come down on their price, which was below $20,000. To make a long story short(er), the manger said “no”, the check was ripped up and we left the dealership.
I was not going to get the car. I was devastated!
A couple of days later my dad had his own car, a Buick Regal serviced. He and my mother were just days away from returning overseas where they lived and worked as educators for nine months out of the year. They had their car detailed and prepared for the long months it sat on blocks in the garage.
My dad came home singing the praises of a saleswomen he had met that day at Royal Buick and a car that she had on the lot that he thought I might like.
A Buick? Really? Old people drive Buick’s. You and mom drive a Buick.
No, this was very hip he told me. It’s a Skylark and it fits all your criteria.
My what?
1) Navy blue
2) Automatic
3) Room for four
4) CD player
5) And while it’s not a convertible, it has a sunroof.
He was right.
And the clincher? 6) If you get this car, your mom and I will pay for your car insurance for a year.
Fine. Car shopping was exhausting and I didn’t have it in me to start all over, plus my parents were never going to leave me the money to carry out this project on my own and they wouldn’t be home again until December.
Done.
I hated that car from the minute I started driving it. It was exactly what I didn’t want. It wasn’t hip or cute in any way. It was a Buick. My friends all made fun of me, but I drove everyone everywhere and in the end, I learned to appreciate it. After all, who was I to complain? It was paid for, brand new and it got me from point A to B and back again hundreds of times for five years. I have a lot of good memories in that car. Then my sister totaled it.
I really wish that I had asked my dad if he got free oil changes and/or car washes for life after buying me the Skylark. He had to have gotten some sort of kick back, right?
Years later, I finally did get a Volkswagen. A Passat. I have owned three cars since then, but the Passat was my favorite.
“Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.” – John Howard Payne
I’m back! It’s good to be home. I missed my little blog, but thoroughly enjoyed being unplugged for a while. Now, with my head swimming in posting ideas and new thoughts on motherhood to share, I’m anxious to get back to it….
First and foremost, we had a terrific trip! The flights to and from were torturous and very hard on us all, but we did it and are better for it.
I can’t believe that I can now say that I been to six continents or even more impressive that, that my son has been to three!
Sydney is a beautiful hustling bustling multi-cultural city with tons of things to see and do and we made the most of our four days there by exploring The Rocks, the great neighborhood where our hotel was located, walking over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, visiting the famed Opera House and the Taronga Zoo.
In between our bookend stays in Sydney, Lucas and I spent a wonderful week with my friend Sophie and her family in Noumea, New Caledonia and got to experience life on an island. It was so good for my soul to see my friend again and I loved finally meeting her beautiful daughters, Emma (who turned six while we were there) and Noemi (3). They were very sweet to Lucas and he fell in love with them instantly too.
I am especially grateful to Sophie’s husband Luc, who took the entire week off work while I was there to help out with their girls and their daily routine and even looked after Lucas so that Sophie and I could spend some time alone together. I love how even after not seeing each other for 10 years, we picked up right where we left off. That has to be the mark of a true friendship.
As I said in my Facebook status on April 25: One 15 hour flight, one trip to the ER, one lost cell phone and unbelievable humidity = the price you pay to see your best friend again! Having a wonderful time in New Caledonia.
I can never thank Sophie and Luc enough for everything they did to make us feel comfortable and welcome and I don’t know what I would have done without their help. Shortly after we arrived (literally minutes after we walked off the plane), we headed to the ER where Lucas was diagnosed with gastroenteritis. This led to multiple trips to the pharmacy, calls to their family’s pediatrician and a later diagnosis of an ear infection and sore throat.
Agh! I now know what a mother’s worst fear is while traveling and it’s not that you’ll run out of diapers on a 15 hour flight, it’s that your baby will get sick on an island where you don’t speak the language!
He seems to be 100% now, although he is still pulling on his ear, so we are going see our pediatrician tomorrow (I mean, later).
Maybe he was just missing his daddy, who was in Tasmania participating in the annual Targa Tasmania, a tarmac rally with competitive stages on closed roads. I will have to get Lucas’ dad to share his experience in the form of a guest post, because I couldn’t do it justice. I suppose the pictures might speak for themselves. Luckily no one was seriously hurt!!
It was the longest we have all been a part from one another and what made it more difficult was the lack of communication. We can normally text one another, but not without a phone (which I believe is in the Sydney airport somewhere…Grrr!).
Jet lag is starting to kick in… photo highlights will have to wait until tomorrow (I mean, later).
Since I have known your dad, he has owned 13 cars!! Nine modern daily drivers and four vintage vehicles. The vintage ones are the most exciting. They all had original parts and their own unique history. The latest addition in our ever-revolving garage door is a 1973 Porsche 911 RS 2.7.
Your grandfather sells cars.
Your dad sells cars.
Cars are in your dad’s blood and from the looks of your face in these photos, it is definitely in yours too.
The best is yet to be.
Day 29/30
La Jolla, California has long been the destination for the finer things in life. Breathtaking coastlines, exceptional cuisine, elegant homes, exquisite shopping and of course fine automobiles have been staples in this luxurious locale since the 1880s.
The La Jolla Historical Society paid tribute to some of the world’s finest automobiles today at the 6th Annual La Jolla Motor Car Classic, at the beautiful La Jolla Cove. Your dad’s company is a major sponsor of this event and here are some fun photos from our day:
You sure did seem to know your way around that pricey 1967 Porsche 910. Do you also happen to have $1,000,000 laying around? 🙂
The best is yet to be.
