Car Dent

“Dad, I need to show you something, and I hope you won’t get mad,” said my youngest twin.

He was sixteen and had been driving the 10 year old Oldsmobile “tank” that I had gotten for he and his brother to share.

He took me to the Oldsmobile and showed me a dent in the passenger side door.

“I was driving by where they were cutting grass on the side of the highway and a mower threw this rock into the side of the car!” he said with apprehension in his voice.

I looked at it and said: “Wow, that is a dent! Don’t worry about it. I got this car so that if anyone hit it they would bounce off and you and your bother would be safe.”

“Whew! I thought you would be mad!”

“Nope. It wasn’t your fault. I’m glad that you were not hurt. I appreciate you having the courage to come and tell me about it. Besides, that dent does not decrease the trade-in value a single dollar.”

We hugged and went and did something fun.

As Dads we should resist the urge to get our 16 year-olds a brand new sporty car and get something more practical.