Emancipation Proclamation

The Monkeygirl household has been emancipated!  We all have been patiently waiting - or dreading - this day, but it has finally arrived.  Skaterboy finally has his own set of wheels!

I don't know if I am happy or sad about this turn of events.  I know that having Skaterboy having his own car means that I am no longer stuck at home without a car for hours at a time.  I know Mr. Monkeygirl is ecstatic about no longer having to share his truck.  We are both thrilled to know that when we do get in our vehicles, the amount of gas in the tank will be the same as when we parked 'em!

It has been something that as parents we have been able to put off for a long time.  Most kids end up getting some kind of car as soon as they learn how to drive.  We live within spitting distance of the high school so getting to and from school was never an issue.  His stint with an after school job was short-lived and his hours worked well with our schedules so it never became an issue.  Now that he is ready to start school again at the community college, we could have tried to rely on his friends to get him to school and back but that would be a tricky proposition - at best.

So with a looming deadline and completely different ideas about what makes an "acceptable" car, we set out searching for a car online.  Skaterboy came up with his suggestions -mostly impractical but really "cool" looking cars.  I came up with the practical suggestions - hey I thought the 4x4 pickup truck with the snow plow and salt spreader solved 2 problems at once  - he got a car and a job all in one!  Mr. Monkeygirl managed to cover common ground between us and found cars that were both parent friendly and spoke to the cool "project" car that Skaterboy longed for. 

Skaterboy and Mr. M set out early this morning to look at the latest object of obsession.    I should have known this wasn't going to work out.  The kid selling the car cancelled a couple of attempts to test drive the car. Then even though he promised to call right back, he refused to answer his phone for an entire day.  A few minutes into the test drive, the car died and the boys had to push it off the main drag onto a side street.  Then the cops showed up and wanted to give Mr. M a ticket for driving an unlicensed car.  Fortunately the policeman was feeling generous and let him go without a ticket after talking to the owners (who showed up with a can of gas).  On the way back, the car died again.  Skaterboy looked at his dad and said, "This car is not worth it."  Whew!  Mr. M thought it was a POS but was a little leery about dealing with a disgruntled 18 yr old.

They decided to stop at a dealer on the way home that had a car they were both interested in.  After a successful test drive (no cops involved and step-mom's approval), they negotiated a deal on a nice 2002 Chevy Cavalier Z24 with a 5 speed transmission.  Everyone is happy. Skaterboy has his own car.  Dad and stepmom are happy because he has something relatively safe and reliable.  

The extra bonus?  Now we can make him do errands for us during the day while we are at work!  Score one for us!  P.S.  I would have posted a picture if the car had sat in the driveway long enough for me to get out the camera.  I guess I have to get up early in the morning to get a shot in daylight!