Crunch

"If it lasts even one year, you will have your money's worth. But if it could last two years until you graduate, that would be amazing!"

And it did. Almost.

Nearly two years ago, my friend Lindsey was selling her sweet little white car. Isaiah was in the market for his own transportation, so we figured this was a great match. Lindsey and David had kept the car in awesome condition, but as with all older cars, one never knows how long they will last. Turns out this one was a wonderful. Other than routine oil changes, this car hasn't cost Isaiah a cent in nearly two years. It provided him safe, reliable transportation to and from school and work. We are thankful.

But as you can see above, he had a bit of  a problem a couple weeks ago. He was on the freeway and noticed a semi moving into his lane. Instinctively, he swerved the other way and hit another car. Most importantly, no one was hurt, and the other car suffered no damage at all. Isaiah's car, though a bit crunchy, was still drivable, though it's a good thing he's so skinny because the driver's door only opens about six inches. But then this other thing happened.

I was sitting here grading papers when his text came:

"Uh, the hood just popped up on my car when I was on the freeway."

Gasp! (Calm yourself, Terrianne. He just sent you a text message. That means he's not brain dead.)

And in case you were wondering, here's yet another reason to carry duct tape with you wherever you go. He was apparently able to pull off on the shoulder and use duct tape to secure the hood. He took side streets from that point, drove slowly, and made it safely home. Whew! This photo doesn't show the totally shattered windshield caused by the hood popping up. It's quite a sight, really. People even stop by to admire it when they walk past.

This lovely car lasted Isaiah nearly two years; he graduates this coming May. Who knows how long it might have lasted if this accident hadn't occurred?

Let me leave you with this thought. If you think parenting young children is stressful, you are mistaken. If you think parenting teenagers is stressful, you are mistaken. I've done both and am still doing the latter. But parenting young adults is hands down THE MOST STRESSFUL EXPERIENCE EVER!

Crunch.