We've been busy over at our house playing musical cars. Tuesday was a really slow day (read: no work) for me so Eric decided he wanted to go do something fun after we dropped the Accord off at the dealership for some warranty work. Driving off to find something fun to do he suggests that we just go look at cars. Apparently he thinks that looking at cars is fun. It's only fun in my book when you're planning to buy and usually that ends up really bad because for some reason you can't find what you want. So we parked and got out and proceeded to walk the lot and check out what they had. Of course we were immediately pounced upon by the salesman whom we quickly told we were "just looking" so he left us alone. We spent about 20 minutes looking around and as we were leaving the lot we walked by two cars we had not seen, one of which Eric was immediately smitten with, a little black '09 Honda Civic Si. This little beauty was sitting there with her sister but he didn't see her since she was not the right color, I found this little tid bit out just last night. He told me he wanted to drive it so I thought, what the heck, we've got time to kill so he might as well have some fun. It's not like we are planning on buying a car right now anyway. So yes, he got to drive the little darling and he was even more in love. When we got back to the dealership the Accord was ready to be picked up but our salesman (a different one than the one who pounced on us whose name is Michael Johnson and no, he's not THAT Michael Johnson and I know that because I asked!) said he would be willing to talk numbers just to see what they could come up with. Anyway, at that point I looked at Eric and told him if he wanted the car I would be more than happy to see if my sweet boy wanted to take over payments on the Accord which meant that we would still only have one car payment and he would have the car he really wanted when we bought the Accord. The reason we got the Accord was because we got one hell of a deal on it. Tanner absolutely loved the Accord from the day we brought it home and he was wanting to buy a car earlier this summer but we nixed that idea quickly citing it was not a smart thing to do at the time. When I made that call and asked him what he thought about taking over payments on the Accord there was no hesitancy. There was simply a "are you serious" followed with a very happy yes. I told him it would be a sick and cruel joke to play on him calling him up to make an offer like that to him so yes, I was completely serious. So with that we went ahead and bought our newest member, welcoming her with open arms into our family. This is the first car I have never test driven before we bought it. The hitch was the fact that I was supposed to the next in line for a new car and I can tell Eric felt so bad that he was getting another car. He kept saying "I feel bad", "it's your turn", "we don't have to do this" and he was even saying this stuff to the salesman which really cemented the fact he felt badly about it but I told him it was fine and that it made sense to do it this way. Tanner needed a better car and he is more than capable of making the payments. He's only got 3 years of payments left on the Accord and they are really low so that means he gets a really great car that will take him down the road for a good while as he heads into college next fall and begins the next chapter in his life. Taryn will need a car in a little more than a year so I can drive the car I have until she needs a car and then I will definitely get a new car and let's just say that with all the collateral I now have racked up I will be getting the exact car I want and there will be no hassles from the husband. Ahhhh....life IS good.
This also serves a great purpose in teaching a life lesson to Tanner about what it takes to own and care for a car, what it costs and the sacrifices one must make to have the things in life that you want to have. It's all about working hard to reap the benefits. And I will be the first to say that he makes me so proud being willing to take on this sort of responsibility at his age. He truly is a great kid.
I also need to make sure I make mention of what Eric has done and will continue to do when it comes to us. He has stepped up to the plate when it wasn't his place. He has been there for these kids and he has taken care of them when the person who was supposed to decided he didn't want to give up his money to me to take care of said children. That's fine....as much as it sucks for the kids and for us it's been so rewarding for Eric, and for me, to see the bond that he has with the kids. So many times been told that I have the perfect husband and many people are continually in awe of what support I have in relation to what the kids and I have been through, having a guy step up like that but I have to remind them that he is, after all, a guy as well a human and while he's really wonderful he is in no way perfect and neither am I. I now they mean perfect as in that he is completely 100% supportive of me and he cooks and cleans and goes to the supermarket and does laundry, etc. I think that it wasn't only me and the kids who got lucky, it was also Eric. What the kids have brought to his life has been immeasurable and he has told me many times that my kids are the best kids he's ever come in contact with and that he loves them like they were his own. And I believe that the kids feel the same way - they adore Eric. And if you could have been the fly on the wall that I was while Eric was having a conversation with Taryn about a car for her (after we came home with the new car because she was under the impression she was going to be getting the Accord) when it comes time you would know just exactly what I mean. It was precious as he promised her he would do his best get her the car she wanted when the time came though thing is she will probably have to do what Tanner had to do, drive a car we already have for a little while before that happens. Kids need to not be given everything and they also need to learn how to be humble.
Never in a million years would I have thought this would play out the way it did but I didn't hesitate once when the transaction was taking place knowing in my heart this was the right thing to do. Let's just say that this wasn't in the plans. It's funny how so many things really "aren't in the plans" when you sit down and think about it.
Ultimately for me it was all about what was right and what was best, not that I was getting the shaft. I won't lie, I am a little jealous but it's my car too so it's not like I won't be driving it. The kids are what is important here and making sure they are taken care of is key. And Eric has also sacrificed and he deserves it as much as I do. I have done, and will continue to do whatever it takes to help them along and grow their wings so when the day comes and they fly from the nest they can do it with the confidence that they know what to expect in life and I will know in my heart that I did whatever I had to to make sure they were able to do just that.
Although there is one little moral to this story.....there is never a time when you say you are going to "just" go look at cars because you always end up buying.
No comments:
Post a Comment