Yesterday In Someone Elses Life

Thursday, on my way home from Chipotle, my sweet lemon of a car, Betty (2009 Carola I bought used 3 years ago) started to make this awful rattling noise when I accelerated from a stop all the way into about 4^th gear.  Haha, look at me thinking I know what I’m talking about (I don’t).  Turns out her transmission blew at 120K miles.  This is a bit rare for a Toyota Corolla, as is having to change her break pads every three months, but alas I was freaking out.  It seems like I am always having car trouble, I swear I have the worst luck.  I promptly made an appointment with the Toyota Service Center, and then prayed that it was not going to cost more then $1000.  Dream on, sister. 

Things between my dad an me have been strained for the past four months, but when he came home from work, I told him about the car, and he agreed to come take a look.  He confirmed my fears: the transmission would need to be replaced.  The repair would cost me almost all of the grant/loan money I received from school that I was saving for bills between January and June.  This news was absolutely devastating. 

Here's the thing; my dad has always hated my corolla.  He knew from the moment he drove it the first time that I had received a lemon, and has never felt safe with me driving it.  He saw this as an opportunity to get out of the corolla and into something new and reliable.  I, of course, told him that there was no way I could afford a new car, but he (being uncharaistically generous) offered to buy me a new car outright, and I would pay him my normal monthly car payment until I graduated and then got a “real” job.  The arrangement goes that once I am established, I will pay him off the balance, as well as any money he puts toward the new car monthly, and he will then sign the car over to me. 

Let me explain something here: I am NOT a “daddy’s girl”.  My parents philosophy in raising children is to throw them out in the world and let them sink or swim.  Dad doesn’t make a habit of just buying cars for people, or doing anything that will cost him very much, financially or otherwise.  But I suppose watching your daughter struggle for years trying to upkeep a bad car eventually wears on a father, and he decided to help me.  I am SO grateful!

So we set out to Toyota (I love Toyotas) to price a new car and see if we could get anything for the old car as a trade in, since we still owed a bit of money on her.  Long story short, even though we were looking for a new Corolla, I fell in love with the Prius C.  The Prius C is the smaller version of the original, and in my opinion much cuter.  I have always dreamed of owning a Hybrid, mostly because of the mass amount of driving I do. (I drive to San Luis Obispo and back twice a month, plus I’m a part time pizza delivery girl).  Somehow, even though it was more expensive by a few thousand dollars, dad agreed it was the best car for me.  After a lifetime at the dealership, we drove out with a great deal and more importantly a sense of safety that honestly I have never felt.

I’m not sure what moved my dad to help me out in such an extreme way, but I have never felt so taken care of in my life.  Its almost like someone cares (what?).  Is this my life? 

Once we were home, I made vegetarian tacos for Maddex, and then dad built a bon fire in the backyard.  We roasted marshmallows and talked until the fire burned out.  Maddex was having the time of his life, and I felt so happy to see him smiling from ear to ear, with a full belly of nutritious dinner and a marshmallow-y desert! Dad’s generosity just fueled my desire to be in a position one day where I can help Maddex out if he ever needs it.  Being a single mom, it can be very overwhelming shouldering all of the responsibility of a whole other life, but my goal is to be there for him no matter what. 

Once the fire was gone, I went inside, took a shower, and got ready for bed.  Just as I was curling in, dad pops his head in my room and says, “Want to drive your new car to Save-Mart and get a movie from Red Box?” To which I excitedly replied, “um, YEAH!”  So we drove to the store and rented Pacific Rim, came home and watched it, and then I finally went to bed!  It was an awesome day. 

XOXO, Cristen