We need to buy Grandma’s car, my husband said to me a few weeks
ago.
Yes! I said. You are so right. We do need to buy Grandma’s
car!
I think I might have caught my husband a little off guard with
my response. I usually just nod politely for many of his “bright
ideas.” But this time he was actually onto something.
Let me back up a minute.
As we Huffmans brace ourselves (and our bank accounts) to send
Oldest Daughter off to college, funds for cars — whether previously
owned by Grandma or not — are tight. Or pretty much
nonexistent.
But then Grandma retired from her job. And when Grandma retired,
Grandma decided to retire her 10-year-old car as well. When Grandma
and Grandpa first announced their plans to buy some kind of SUV
combo thing that they would drive on epic cross-country jaunts with
all the other newly retired people out there, I didn’t think much
about it.
I should have, because our neighborhood carpool to high school
had just expired. The other carpool passenger just got her license
and was now driving herself to school. That left our two high
school girls in need of a ride. It was either that or hitchhike on
Highway 29 each morning.
You know that stereotype about the little old lady who only
drives her car on Sundays to church? Well, my mom is little, and
she may be a senior citizen, but she did drive her car fairly
often. And just like any self-respecting grandma, she also took
really good car of that car.
It got regular oil changes and all the recommended maintenance.
It had a nice dry parking spot inside a garage. It wasn’t full of
broken pencils, empty water bottles, old umbrellas and the other
junk that comes with driving around three children. This was one
pampered car. Still, it did have more than 100,000 miles on it.
Apparently, one of those big maintenances was looming, and Grandma
already had the appointment made at the dealership.
Who puts $2,500 into a 10-year-old car with that kind of mileage
when they are theoretically about to trade in said car? A grandma
who suspects that her oldest granddaughter might end up driving the
car, that’s who.
Grandma might have had an ulterior motive. About four years ago,
my father-in-law bought a 1966 “classic” car as a fixer-upper
project. He announced that once the “restoration” was complete, our
daughter would drive it. Now, when Oldest Daughter was barely in
ninth grade and years away from getting her license, that sounded
like a swell idea. What high school student wouldn’t like a cute
vintage car to drive to school?
Everything was hunky-dory with that little fantasy until our
girl actually got her license and started driving. I now knew that
the words “teenager,” “cute” and “car” are not meant to go
together.
Suddenly the idea of her carousing around town in a 46-year-old
car didn’t sound so great. To a mom, 46 in car years is like 146 in
human years. That is old. Who’s to say that car wouldn’t just fall
apart in a heap at the next red light? As we drivers know, there is
never a convenient time for an engine to die. Bolts could just pop
out or hubcaps sail down Jefferson Street. I had visions of all
kinds of car catastrophe with her at the wheel.
A newer car, say something from the 21st century, sounded much
better. Something with shoulder and lap seatbelts. Something with
power steering and brakes. Something with multiple airbags. I think
Grandma was thinking the same “something.”
I got on the phone to Grandma to explain our big plan. I don’t
think she was surprised to hear from me.
Let me pause here to say: God bless all the grandmas and
grandpas out there. Your children are now in their 30s and 40s, but
you still continue to support them, like by giving them Bank of
Grandma interest rates and very friendly monthly payment terms.
Grandkids across the country would be out of luck if it wasn’t for
the grandmas and grandpas out there who are buying new cars and
passing down the old ones.
A few days and a handshake later, we had a deal. Grandma,
Grandpa and their neighbors were happy to have the old car vacate
its current parking spot in the neighborhood. And our neighbors
probably wondered how yet another car would fit into ours.
A few weeks later, Oldest Daughter had to stay late at school,
and our ninth-grader talked Grandma into picking her up at school
in her new car.
But her sister could have driven her home when she was done, I
said to Grandma. She’s got the car, after all.
No, no, she said. It’s OK. I just wanted to see how my old car
was doing.
Awwww, I thought. She misses her old car.
Don’t worry, I should have told her. You can come visit your old
car whenever you want. You know where to find it.
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