Wednesday, June 27, 2007

That's gratitude for you

I've been having car trouble lately. Lots of car trouble. Like, you've probably seen me pushing my vehicle out of an intersection and then kicking the crap out of it as it sits on the side of the road.
It's usually true that we never appreciate the things we have until they are gone. Fortunately, I can say that isn't true of the PEOPLE we know. There isn't a day I'm not grateful for my husband's support, my son's precociousness, my mother's advice, and my father's listening ear. Not to mention the friends always willing to go for a margarita and listen to me either praise or rant about the abovementioned! But I never really appreciated the smooth way my car got me from point A to point B until the road wasn't so smooth anymore.
Which leads me to today's survey. I have a theory that teenagers who are given their first cars don't appreciate them the way teens who have to buy their first cars do. Now I know the cycle: a young person can't get a job until he or she has transportation. But how do you get to and from a job unless you have transportation?!? So it's easier to buy a used car for your kid and make them cover insurance, gas, etc. And maybe that works for some kids. I have a long history with home businesses simply because I didn't have wheels for so long. But I bought my first car, and it lasted me to my first marriage. I'd still have it if the engine hadn't kept falling out - while I was driving! My neighbor, on the other hand, was given her first car, and she drove it to the ground.
So what do you think moms? Did you give your teen their first car? If you did, did he or she take good care of it?
Inquiring minds want to know - it's not like I'm going anywhere.
--Misty

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

My son is 15 and while most of his friends are being given brand new cars/trucks he will work for his. Most kids don't understand driving is a priviledge and not a RIGHT! My son will find a job first, have enough money for a small downpayment for a nice used car. I will match up to a certain amount of what they save the first year of their job. My parents drove me back and forth to my first job for two years until I could buy my own car. They helped me with insurance but that was it. I was expected to make the car payment and buy my own gas and it was a great life lesson of teaching me true responsibility.

misty said...

I think it starts wit cell phones these days, and progresses.