Break Downs and Collisions

Having teenagers driving older vehicles inevitably means break downs. So it was no surprise when Dagmar’s Ford Escape broke down on the way to church a few weeks ago.

But to add insult to injury – that same night Pedro hit a deer on the way home from youth group.

Now we had one car down for the count, one car with a missing headlight, the family van, the Suburban (which burns a ten dollar bill every time you start the engine)  and – of course –  the Geo.

I guess you could call it a compact car.

I would call it a tin can on wheels.

Top speed is 60 miles an hour – but only downhill and with a tail wind. If you go much faster than that parts start flying off. We have proven this to be a true fact.

It has a cracked windshield and some funky engine sounds – but boy does it get good mileage!

But it’s definitely not the first choice of teenagers.

Nor is the Suburban – because on their wages they can barely afford to open the door.

This has made for a few very interesting weeks, especially on the days that I needed wheels.

Things got really crazy though, after Dagmar got pulled over while driving Pedro’s car after dark  for missing a headlight.

Every night Jan and Pedro would concoct the elaborate vehicle schedule for the next day – putting the right people in the right vehicle to get them where they need to go – which often including switching cars in town so that nobody had to drive Pedro’s car after dark or burn through their night’s wages driving the Suburban.

Pedro’s car was a cheap and easy fix – it just took time to get in the body shop (we weren’t the only ones to hit a deer!)

Dagmar’s – on the other hand – proved to be more serious.  It’s a tough fix and would cost her a pretty penny at the local mechanic. More than she could spend – or the vehicle was worth.

So – Jan and Pedro are once again moving Pedro’s truck and it’s engine parts out of the shop and moving Dagmar’s wheels in. Because of course – Jan’s going to fix it for her.

So she can save her money for a replacement.

Because that’s what Daddy’s do for the daughters.

He’s a keeper that man of mine.