gonna buy me a mercury...

I'm sort of in the market for a new (used) car.  Poor little red has been leaking oil for three years, and after having it recently diagnosed I also learned it's leaking in three places.  Other than that, nothing is amiss.  It drives like a charm and always gets me where I want to go.  However, I was recently booted out of my garage space because of the mess it was making - understandably so - and that gave me a little motivation to start the car search.

I am not the best car shopper.  I like cars that are pretty and that's about all I know.  I can mumble about mpgs and (I seriously can't even think of anything else...) stuff like that, but I just know I like how it looks, or I don't.  That being the case, I depend on my Dad and Brother to guide me in my quest for the perfect match of price, looks, mpgs, and all the other things important in car purchases.

Dad has been keeping an eye out in his neck of the woods in Western Kansas, and he called one day saying he'd found a beautiful, fully-loaded 2006 in immaculate condition.  And he was right - diamond white (one of three colors I like... white, silver, or most preferable - black), leather interior (also strongly hoped for), back-up assist, spotless, etc.  The only trouble... it was a Buick.  Yep, a Buick.  Technically a Lucerne, which is the same car as a Chevy Impala... but still a Buick.  I was skeptical.  And I kept dragging my feet about the whole idea.  But Dad was sold on it.  "Just test drive one and give it a try," he said.

Okay.  I will give the half-ton grannie mobile a try.

He was right.  It was a nice car, with really nice features.  Although the dealer asked if I had five kids to haul around, it didn't feel as cumbersome as I'd imagined.  In fact, it made me feel very safe compared to the more economy friendly cars I'd been surveying.

I called to give him my driving report.  "It's a little large, and maybe more car than I need, but I did feel extra safe in it, and that was really nice," I told him.

He then said that's what he liked about it too.  That it scared him to death to have his kids out in bigger cities driving small cars with the chance of terrible accidents happening at high speed commuting. His words reminded me of how much he hated the frequent road trips and flights with I had with my previous job.  He said it made him sick to think of me always on the road or in the sky.

Hearing him say that made me feel bad about how much I'd teased him about the Buick.  Good parents are always looking after their children, whether a 7-month old or a 27-year old adult.  As we grow up, go out on our own to find our way in the world, I think we forget just how much our parents still think about us, worry about us, and pray for us.  And as much as we like to declare our independence and maturity, I'm thankful parenting doesn't end at 18 or even at college graduation.  I'm thankful to have a Dad that wants to keep his daughter as safe as he possibly can, even when he's 389 miles across the state of Kansas.  I'm even thankful for that silly Buick.  Because to Dad, that Buick equals love.