Fun with the kid last night.

[cleandan]

My daughter is getting ready to venture off to college.
I have been going through her car making sure it is as ready as it can be.
This is a pretty nice 1997 Acura CL2.2 with all the accessories and, only 80,000 miles so far.

Yesterday, while we were applying the wax to the paint as the last thing to get done before she leaves she says to me, "Dad, we should go to St. Paul Park tonight."
This is a small Wed night car gathering in my area.

I said sure, lets go, but we are taking your car and you are driving.
She wanted me to drive but I told her your car is old enough, and your attitude is good enough, you will be accepted with open arms.

Around 5:30ish we headed down to the gathering.
As we are pulling in she gets a bit skiddish and decides not to park with the rest of the cars...They do allow just about anything.
I said okay, park where you like and we will walk around and have fun.

She finds a spot to park and she leads the way, for the most part.
We stop at the Legion for tacos. We stop at the VFW for some beferages. We stop at a food truck for some fresh cut french fries.
Then we walked around looking at stuff and talking to people.

My kid thought it was kind of neat so many people know me and just walked up and started talking with us.
She asked, with a joking tone, "Is there anybody here you don't know?"

After a while it was time to go and she wanted me to drive home...nope. Your car, you are driving. Be proud of it and have fun with it.

Then I asked if she wanted to drive the loop (where the hot rods are parked) and she said, "Sure, why not."
"But if we are doing that we have to put down the windows and open the sunroof."
Then she said we need some music too and in went the ABBA CD and soon "Dancing Queen" was emanating from the car as we slowly cruised the loop....with a good reception too, which was fun.

When we got home my kids says, "Dad, thank for going to St. Paul Park tonight, I had fun and I'm glad you made me drive."

Well, I think I am set for a few weeks after hearing that kind of glowing review from the kid...

[cammerfe]

 

KS

[turbohunter]

Awesome. That’s the good stuff.

[475fetoploader]

That’s a great story. I thank you for deciding to share that. I have a couple younger daughters, I hope when they’re ready for college, I have that kind of relationship with them.

[428kidd]

Very cool Dan, hope my daughter asks me to take her to a few shoes when she is old enough!

[WConley]

Awesome Dan!  That made me smile.   

[Falcon67]

A memory that will last forever. That was a true blessing. 

[cleandan]

Thanks guys.
I have taken raising my kid pretty seriously.
I have tried to be the best dad I know how...and I think this time I did things nicely.

We have such a good relationship I am constantly thanking my lucky stars...and telling her how wonderful this is.

Next week I will take my kid all the way across the country where she will attend school.
I am so excited for her adventure, while at the same time a bit worried because I am dad...it is in the contract fine print to worry...healthy worry mind you, not the debilitating kind.

She will be good to go after the initial seperation shock because she is very capable...I, on the other hand, may not fare so well...Being dad has been the best thing I have ever done.

I had a custom made terry cloth T-shirt made for the drive back home so I can drive, and cry, at the same time.
I figure I'll be okay after about 800 miles, maybe 950 miles.

[475fetoploader]

If she’s going to school in Washington, I can offer you an F.E. Friendly pit stop before you ventured home.

[blykins]

Glad you guys have that kind of relationship and get to share those kinds of memories.   

Mine started 4th grade this week.  I wish time would go slower. 

[My427stang]

Our daughter is 31 and Fridays used to be drag strip nights until she met a nice guy (after a ton of bozos).  I miss it greatly, but happy to see her with someone who cares about her.

It's tough...seems like yesterday she was wrapped around my leg saying "I'm glue" and making me drag her around laughing because she was "stuck to my foot".

I can look back and say "good dad who worked too much", love the first part, hate the second part.

[JohnN-1BADFE]

Great stories!  I have 2 daughters.  One will be a senior in college this year, the other a senior in high school.

A few years back they come home with my wife and say dad, there's some tuner cars down the street at the park.  Let's get in the Fairlane and go down there.  My Fairlane is pretty rowdy sounding, with a pretty large solid roller, etc.  So, I say okay and we drive down there and drive through where the tuner cars are parked with the Fairlane rumbling as we slowly drive by them and they are all staring at us.  My daughters absolutely loved it and can't stand tuner cars.  Makes a father proud.

They both will send texts with pictures of 60's Mustangs, etc. and Ford trucks to me from time to time, when they're out and about.

[shady]

When my daughter was a toddler (now 39), she was in charge of shifting the 4 speed in my bench seat shovel. Yeah, no car seat, (wasn't required) but I did hand her off to a spectator when I street raced. She always had to tell her mother when we got home and then the shit hit the fan. When she was 20 I did teach her to drive a stick and she drove a Nissan SE-R Sentra for a few years.

[cleandan]

Glad you guys have that kind of relationship and get to share those kinds of memories.   

Mine started 4th grade this week.  I wish time would go slower.

Brent, I can say from direct experience, it is well worth all the other "losses" to give your kid as much of your time as possible.

Fixing the kitchen sink? Have your kid help, even if it adds an extra two hours.

Have an opportunity to be a chaperone on a school trip? Take that time off work and go on that trip. Learn the trip and be the best "tour guide" you can be.

Does the school allow you to come into the class to participate on occasion?...read a book...give a persentation...help with something special with your kid? Take that time to participate in a project or other such thing, even if it is for just an hour.

Basically I am saying, make a plan to be part of the kids life and schedule it as often as possible....Not a helicopter parent, just a parent giving thier kid time and love.

We all have pretty good intentions, but life gets in the way, and often we intend to do a thing but it was not a set plan so it passes by and we think, "next time."

Well guess what, next time passes by pretty effin quick and before you know it the kid is no longer a kid.

Life is short, and childhood is shorter.

The money I "lost" while giving my time to my kid has already been forgotten...I'll earn more money.
I will not get more time to spend with my kid.

[cleandan]

When my daughter was a toddler (now 39), she was in charge of shifting the 4 speed in my bench seat shovel. Yeah, no car seat, (wasn't required) but I did hand her off to a spectator when I street raced. She always had to tell her mother when we got home and then the shit hit the fan. When she was 20 I did teach her to drive a stick and she drove a Nissan SE-R Sentra for a few years.

My daughter has had many car related experiences.
She loves, and wants, my 1966 Sunbeam Tiger directly because of her first memory "driving" this car when she was very little.
One day I removed the hardtop and she drove the car standing on the drivers seat, feet between my legs, her head just over the top of the windshield, her hands on the steering wheel.
My Tiger is not slow motion friendly and I think I burned about 10,000 miles off the clutch trying to go slow and easy as we putted around the neighborhood for about 10 minutes....doing my best to let her think SHE was doing all the driving.

One other time, when she was still young...maybe around 8ys old, we took my 1977 F250 to a big church parking lot so she could drive around a little bit.
I put the seat back so she would fit between me and the steering wheel and still have a bit of seat to sit on.
I worked the pedals and made steering corrections as needed, otherwise she drove around the lot on her own.
After a bit I asked if she wanted to try to gas pedal...to which she said yes.

At first she was very dainty with it and actually did really well. I was poised and ready to take over should it be required, but she drove the truck...even from her too small stature.
We did this for about 10-15 minutes, at which point I asked is she wanted to go a little faster.

She looked at me, nodded yes, then stretched out with her right leg and nailed the gas.
This promply induced a big tire smoking burnout and me wedging my foot under the gas pedal and pulling it up.....We had a good laugh about that, as well as a little talk about when and where to do such things. Then we went home just incase we wore out our welcome in the church parking lot.
When I sold that truck years later, my kid now 13 years old, she wanted to "say goodbye" to that truck by doing a proper burnout.
We found a spot, I put her in the drivers seat, explained what to do, and she cracked off a grand tire smoker...well restrained and controlled too. Then we swapped spots and I drove home. She talks about that truck like it was a favorite pet she misses.

I have tons of these stories, and I am so very grateful I really can not express my true feelings.
I could write a book...we really have had some great fun over the years.