Cars

My memoir writing group met today.  Here is my piece, about some of the cars from my early driving days.  Enjoy!

By the time I turned 16 my Junior year of High School, all of my friends already had a Driver’s License. Some of them even had their own cars. I don’t remember specifically deciding not to get my license, I just didn’t have a need for one. It wasn’t until my Senior year that my Mom decided it was time. I never realized it before, but she probably pushed the subject because my older sister had moved to North Carolina to be a nanny for a year and Mom needed someone to run errands. Whatever the reason, I finally got my license in November of 1987, one month after my 17th birthday. 

My family never had fancy cars. Quite the contrary. But my parents’ rule was that as long as I was willing to drive their cars, they’d pay for the insurance and gas. If I wanted to buy my own car, I was on my own. I was a pretty smart kid and I knew a good deal when I saw one so I swallowed my pride and drove whatever was available. Well, I sort of swallowed my pride. We did have one vehicle that I
never learned how to drive because, well, I didn’t want anyone to see me in it. It was my Dad’s 1961 Ford van. Rather, it was a van from the front, but looked like a truck from the back. But Dad’s uncle Don had built a camper shell onto the back so it still looked more like a van than a truck. Whatever you called it, it was Ugly with a capital Ugh! I remember riding as a front-seat passenger in this beast one afternoon when I saw one of my friends. I immediately ducked so they wouldn’t see me. My Dad actually pulled the van over to the side of the road after my little display, insisting that I’d offended his van. He refused to go until I apologized and kissed the steering wheel. My younger brother did not share my opinion of this van and actually lived in it for an entire Summer.

I remember well the day Dad taught me how to drive a stick shift. We were driving a 1970-something turquoise blue Dodge Colt wagon that my sister dubbed “The Easter Egg”. I didn’t know it at the time, but the clutch on this baby was difficult at best. As I started to get the hang of it, Dad took me to a very steep hill so I could practice how-not-to-roll-backwards from a stop. As luck would have it, another car pulled up right behind us at the stop sign. Dad told me to go but I refused. He tried to tell me I could do this. “Just ease up on the clutch and give it enough gas and you’ll be fine.” No way. “I’ll hit the car behind us,” I insisted. “No you won’t. You’ll be fine.” “I’ll hit them. I’m not going.” Seeing that I was not going to give in, Dad finally got out of the car and asked them to go around us. With the other car out of the way, I was able to move on. My next obstacle was a stop light.

I was the first car at the intersection with a whole line of cars behind me. The light turned green and I slowly moved into the intersection only to kill the engine. Start the car. Kill the engine. By this time the light was red again and I had a lot of angry people behind me. I wish I could say we were still on a hill so I’d have a better excuse, but the road was flat and I was embarrassed. On the next green light, I managed to move, but I’m pretty sure that ended the day’s driving lesson. I don’t remember having any trouble with a stick shift after that. Well, there was that one time I couldn’t get up a hill. I’d get part way up and then the car just wouldn’t go anymore. Finally, on my third attempt, I realized I had the parking brake on!

It wasn’t until college that I really appreciated having learned to drive a stick shift on such a difficult car. Everything I drove after that was cake! I honestly don’t think I’ve ever had to drive a manual transmission that was harder than the Egg.

My favorite car was a pale yellow Honda 600 referred to as “the pee-pee car”, again named by my sister and her friends. It was just a little thing and I’m reminded of it whenever I see a Mini Cooper. It was a gutless wonder, but quite a conversation piece. It had a sunroof that pretty much took up the entire roof of the car. I remember driving it one day to meet a large group of friends. When it was time to go home, I couldn’t find my car. It definitely was not where I had parked it. It turns out, my guy friends had picked it up and moved it to another parking spot. Another time it was the centerpiece at a High School dance. I drove it through the cafeteria doors and it sat in the middle of the commons until the dance was over and I drove it home. 

The first car I ever owned was a Subaru. Everyone would ask me what model it was, but I honestly didn’t know. It just said Subaru on the back and that was it. I think I paid $600 and don’t remember ever having trouble with it. I loved that the headlights automatically turned off when I removed the key. Then there was my 1983 Honda Accord. I loved that car! When I got married, I sold it to my parents. My younger siblings got to beat up on it until it died. 

There have only been a handful of cars since then. I currently drive either a 1995 12-passenger Ford van or our 1994 Honda Accord. Both run great and I’ve never had a car payment. There’s still 4 years until my oldest gets his driver’s license and then my daughter the year after that. I think I’ll keep these old cars around. If they ever complain about what they have to drive, I’ll just pull over and make them kiss the steering wheel.

Sunshine

This morning, Sadie and I were walking to the neighbor’s house.  The sun was shining and reflecting off the snow and Sadie said, “It’s too bright!”

I said, “I love the sunshine.  It makes me happy!”

To that Sadie replied, “When it’s on our shoulder, it makes us happy.  When it’s in our eyes, it makes us cry.”

Can you tell what we’ve been listening to?

Don't Be Jealous

While I realize that no one would ever be jealous of my feet (no comments directed towards my long toes, please), you just might be envious at the quality pedicure I received over the weekend. It will probably surprise you to hear that this fine job was done by a three year old.  But she’s had lots of practice and is getting quite creative in her nail-painting skills.  If you’re in the area, please stop in.  Sadie is always looking for her next victim customer.

Only a Flesh Wound

Friday afternoon, Sam burst in the house after school in tears.  He ran through the house to find me and then held up his hand to show a missing finger.  At first glance it looked real and he got every bit of the reaction he was hoping for.  See what I have to put up with around here?  Never a dull moment.

Deodorant for Cars?

Sadie is really into smells lately.   She is ever aware of the smells around her and, for example, will quickly inform us that we have stinky breath in the morning.

Today, she and I were on our way home from the store when I heard a screeching sound from another car.  Then our car filled with the unmistakable smell of a burning belt.  Sadie, obviously agitated, immediately said, “What is that smell?  Where is that smell coming from?”  After a moment of consideration, she matter of factly said, “I know what that smells like.  Armpits.  Armpit sweat.”

Where does she come up with this stuff?

Dreaming of Summer

My Dad was here last weekend.  It was great to have Grandpa to ourselves for a few days and the kids enjoyed spending time with him.  Unfortunately, the weather was quite cold while he was here so, other than a meal at Sadie’s favorite restaurant “Stink ‘n’ Shake” (Steak ‘n’ Shake) and church, we pretty much hung out at home.  On Tuesday he headed to Chicago for a trade show.  The weather got colder each day, the coldest day being Thursday the day he was to return to Nevada.  It was -8 degrees, but the real feel was -30 or worse.  In Boulder City where he’s from, it was 67 degrees that day.  So he experienced a 100 degree temperature differential in one day.  Crazy!

Usually Chicago is much colder than us at this time of year, but we had the same temperatures on Thursday.  In fact, Thursday and Friday were so cold that my kids’ school was canceled both days.  They were thrilled with an unexpected 5 day weekend as they’re also off tomorrow for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.  We’ve had a fun weekend, but the cold really limits our possibilities.  So I’ve been reminiscing about warmer days and decided it’s about time I blogged our vacation last Summer (July 20-August 4).  You can click on any of the pictures to see a larger image.

Here are some of the highlights:

*The kids didn’t know we were going on vacation until we were in the van.  It was great to see their reaction as we informed them we had packed everything they’d need and we’d be gone for two weeks.  This is the 2nd time we’ve pulled this off and it’s my favorite way to go.

*We drove to Iowa the first day (about 6 hours) and stayed with the Christensen’s, friends from our student days in Ohio.  Then we left at 4:00 the next morning thinking we had about a 20 hour drive ahead of us.  Because we threw the tread on one of our tires about 3 hours into that day’s drive, we spent way too long getting new tires in Des Moines.  All in all, we were on the road (or waiting for tires) for 25 hours before finally making it to Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Idaho.  I’ve never been so glad to get out of the van.  Fortunately, there were some nice views along the way to make Iowa, Nebraska, and Wyoming less monotonous.

*Everyone in Jeff’s family (minus one niece) was already at his parent’s house.  The kids enjoyed getting to know their cousins a bit better and we had plenty of food and fun together.  This is Jeff and Todd (Todd is the one with the monster burger).  They are 14 months apart in age even though they look like twins in this picture.

*There was plenty of water fun.  We enjoyed waterskiing, the Rexburg water park, and sprinklers.

*There was plenty of other fun going on.  We entertained ourselves with Karaoke, horseback riding, 4-wheelers, learning the Ripstik, crafts, movies, games and more.

*Spending time with both sides of our family was definitely the highlight of our trip.  We were finally able to meet our newest nieces/cousins, Taylor and Ruby.  We were also able to visit with my Grandma, not knowing it would be the last time we’d ever have that chance.  For that one reason alone, we’re glad we made the trip.

*After we left Idaho, we spent a few days in Utah at my brother Steve’s house.  We were able to get together with everyone on my side of the family twice and it was great visiting and catching up.  While we were there, my Dad took us on a tour of Salt Lake and we were able to visit many interesting sites and let the kids see some of the places I lived and visited as a little girl.

*We drove to Jeff’s brother Jeremy’s house in Colorado and spent the night with them on the way home.  We attended church then started driving with plans to stay the night in Kansas – a very long and boring state.  When the power source for the movie player went out in the van and the kids started getting irritable and grumpy,  Jeff and I decided we’d rather drive through the night than face another day in the van without entertainment for the little ones.  

It’s quite peaceful when the kids are all sleeping!  So we arrived home around 7:00 the next morning.

*Overall it was a great trip.  A little too much driving. I mean, you’d think it would get easier after making the trip so many times.  But it was fun spending so much time together and we’re all glad we went. 

I just looked outside and it’s snowing.  Back to reality!  Hmmm…I wonder if it will be warm over Spring Break…

How can they refuse?

For his birthday in November, Sterling received Anakin’s Jedi Starfighter Lego set.  I think the only reason he wanted this particular set was to get the blue light saber blade.  Since that was his favorite piece, he played with it constantly.  But as a result, he lost it the first day.  We’ve searched the house to no avail and he is ready to buy a whole new set just to get that one piece.  I tried to order a replacement on the pick-a-brick section of the Lego website, but they only have green light saber pieces available.  I suggested that before he fork over another $20 for the set, that he try writing a letter to Lego and see if they could possibly send him the right piece.  He wrote this letter without any help, straight from his sweet little 7-year old heart.  I especially like how he included the “TM” each time he wrote “lego”.  It melted my heart.  Let’s hope it melts theirs!