car shopping sucks but my son is amazing!

So the Hardie Tynes and the State of Alabama finally saw fit to forward five weeks of child support onto me so yeah...I have a LITTLE bit of money to use towards a down payment. But guess what? It's not enough! Ugh!

I knew with my lack of credit (I haven't borrowed money in years, not on paper anyway ;) ) it was going to be an uphill battle but I thought that if I found something inexpensive, aka used, that I would be in a position to negotiate with a little bit of money down. Not so. I need twice what I have to get the car I actually liked and thought I could afford --a 97 Nissan Maxima. But get this, if I buy something NEWER and MORE EXPENSIVE I have a better chance of getting financed, even though some dealerships were still wanting me to get a co-signer. Not gonna do that.

So I guess God is saying I need to wait a little while longer. Just because I'm desperate doesn't mean I'm stupid. I'm not going to make a mistake with money again, I already am not liking the fact that I'm going to probably have a car payment. Who knows, maybe God is planning dropping me a GREAT deal soon.

But I did enjoy the day with my son. My sweet, precious son has been not only carting his mom around to work and back a lot of days but also took most of the day to go with me car shopping. Now you're probably thinking, "What does an 18 year old know about cars?" Well, in this case--a LOT.

If you remember, he's a freaking genius to start with--gonna major in Mechanical Engineering this Fall at 'Bama, got into Honors College, made a 29 on that ACT, does all his own car maintenance as well as some for other people and is currently working as a machinist this summer. But he also took his Chevy Blazer completely apart after it was wrecked and completely rebuilt it! He may make a few dingy mistakes now and again (like leaving his wallet at home on occasion!) but this kid totally knows things most 18 year olds (and even this 41 year old) doesn't know! He remembers to look at things that I dont and knows the used car market well enough to keep me from making a huge mistake. In fact, he pissed off a few salesmen today!

So what's a mom to do with such an AMAZING son? Take him to lunch, at the very least! We enjoyed some yummy Habeneros and talked about politics, sports, funny movies, world events....it was so much fun. I miss living with my son. But I am SO PROUD of the man he has grown up to be! I am SO going to miss him (yes I know he'll only be 45 minutes away) when he moves to T-town but I'm SO EXCITED for all the opportunities that lay at his feet.

So while car shopping (and waiting to go car shopping--AGAIN!) TOTALLY SUCKS, my son is TOTALLY AMAZING!!!