Thursday, August 25, 2005
soccer vans for teenagers
OK, I promised I'd blog everyone with this subject, because she seemed to think you would all agree with her, but then when I said I would really do it, she said that Jacob would agree with me and dad. and then Cari. and then she thought maybe all would - so, she is complaining vehemently about having to be a cute teenage girl and drive a van to school. it is loud, big, hard to park, and ugly. it beeps when you open the door. of cours, our opinion is just be lucky that you have a car to drive, blah blah blad, cause we never got one, yada yada yada. she claims to be the only person forced to drive such an awful vehicle to Ketcham, and is embarrassed to do so. I told her that was prideful, but I do know that even dad hates driving the van now. dad seems to think we are doing it because it is the safest car for her to drive, which I am not sure of cause the AB brakes no longer work in it. her other point, I am not going to work or school, so most of the time the car is just home, and it is not embarrassing for a mom to drive a van, and the car takes less gas. my question, am I being unreasonable in forcing her to take the van, or should I at least consider her plight and offer to let her take the car on days I don't need it. I already gave in and told her she could drive it the first day of school. take in to consideration the fact that as much as I would love to say, "if you don't want to drive the van, take the bus." but she will be going to early morning seminary and taking Dinho and David Ward and Tom to the church and going right to school from the church, so saying so makes it so that me or dad have to drive them to the church and hang around an hour, then drive them to school. also, she gets out at 1, so I would have to go pick her up, and she will be working or going to volleyball after school everyday, so not letting her drive makes my life much harder. all comments welcome, I will not be mad, and I will be able to take advice and even try to see her side. I did think about telling her that if she raised her ACT test score up by 2 points, I would let her take the car everyday. that is a good motivating factor. ? mom
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4 comments:
Kathy, would you like some cheese with that whine? :-) I'm afraid I must side with moms. I never had a car - so on days that my friends did not drive me (or I was lucky enough to take mom's van - which was RARE!), I took the bus. So I have little sympathy - sorry. I agree that some incentive might be a good compromise - but I would say 4 points on the ACT. Kathy is SMART! She can do much better, she just needs to practice/study. Don't let her sell herself short.
With that said, if there is a girl out there that deserved to drive a nice car to school (and per above, I'm not sure there is), then Kathy would be it. She is one of the kindest, most righteous, mature, and fun to be around 17-year old girl I have ever known. I look up to her. That will probably land her a place in heaven, but not a Camry.
I have to side with Mom on this one too. Sorry Kathy. I guess I come from the old school of take what you are given and be grateful for it. Right now I still have a lot of repenting to do because I have big problems with a similar subject. And no, I don't want to talk about it. It is something I struggle with constantly and just need to learn to deal. But that is a different topic.
Every kid needs to go through the embarrasement of having to drive an ugly, klunky old car. I already think mom is way too nice. Although I think Kathy is a good girl, but that doesn't always warrant getting everything you want. We don't learn lessons or grow much if everyone gives us what we want, or bails us out of every sticky spot we may get into.
I have to say that i did have a car the second half of my senior year because my grandpa bought me an old junky, klunky chevy citation for 400 bucks. I had to put gas in it, pay the insurance and maintain it. It was hard work, and a super ugly embarrasing car, but at least I had wheels and I was glad for that since I had a job to get to, and a mother that didn't like to drive anyone anywhere. :)
So that is my soap box. Sorry if I sound a bit dramatic today. I am very hormonal!!!!!!!!!! If you happen to be a guy, count your many blessings. That is all...
I'm sorry... but anyone who has heard MY stories about cars has NO room to complain or whine, about ANYTHING. Some of you have already heard this, but for those who haven't, here it is:
I worked all summer when I was 15 to buy a 62 Chevy truck. I worked on it all school year in anticipation to start driving that spring. A man came to my dad (thinking the truck belonged to him) and offered him a straight trade for a 91 Nissan Pulsar. (a fairly sporty little car for that time). My dad decided to make the trade WITHOUT MY CONSENT and the man took my truck and title and skipped town. My dad never did a thing to compensate me for HIS mistake. I still needed a car so I found a 79 Datsun pickup (which was beyond beat up, with a near shattered windshield, 80% bondo body, and the ugliest tan/rusted out paint/body, and the carburetor would cause the pickup to stall if you ever took you foot off the gas and this was a clutch so it took some tricky maneuvering... and I could go on and on and on). Anyway, I drove this HUMILIATING "car" for a year as I saved once again to buy another car so I could keep doing my sports AND work 30 plus hours a week. So, I bought an 89 Ford Escort. It was nice in comparison to anything I, or our family, had owned to that point. I used it until I graduated and left on my mission. When I left I told my younger brother that he could use it if he took care of it, until I finished my mission. Well, when I got home my parents wouldn't let me take it back because they said it wasn't fair since I had come home early and Quentin still needed it. To avoid arguing with a brick wall I moved out and bought another car, which I had until I was rear-ended in it and it was totaled. After finishing my mission, I bought yet another car, the little civic I drive today.
EVERY car I have driven I have paid for all by myself. I also have always had to pay my own registration, gas, and insurance.
Sorry Kathy. Although I know I won't be able to say no to my own daughters (especially if they are as good and mature and trustworthy as you) I have to side with you mom on this one. No real sympathy from me.
Well, just to add one more of the same opinion, I'm with Mom. My dad drove my sister and me to school everyday for two years after seminary. After we moved to the rich side of town, my parents decided that it wasn't cool for me to ride the bus (I don't get it either) so they arranged for rides for me until I could drive and then we had this nice arrangement where I would drive to to school and my mom would power walk to school for the exercise and then take the car. And then she was nice enough to come and pick me up. Here's the fun part: when I did drive to school, I drove a very large, very white-ish, 15 passenger Ford van. You wanna talk about hard to park!! I feel bad to this day about all the cars that I dinged in the parking lot and then never did anything about. No noticeable dents, I promise. And then there was the time that I tapped the school bus. Only a tap, I swear.
So as storytime draws to a close, I would say drive the van and be grateful to not be walking to school in the snow, uphill both ways.
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