News

May 15th, 2024

My eldest daughter, Coco, got her learner's permit recently. I don’t know how it was for those of you who have been through this process, but I’m finding it quite fraught (and downright scary the first few times I was her passenger!). She’s very responsible, so I know she’ll be OK, but it’s another sign that she’s growing up so it’s all a bit bittersweet for me. And my wife tells me I’m just being melodramatic.

Coco wasn’t one of those kids that went out and took her permit test the day she turned 16. In fact, it took a bit of cajoling from her parents to motivate her. I know, I just got done lamenting the fact that my baby is growing up and now I’m telling you we had to talk her into driving. All I can say is, we’re looking forward to the day that she can drive herself to school and tennis practice! After almost a year of dropping subtle hints to that effect, I went out and bought her a car, hoping that would do the trick. It’s nothing special, a 10-year-old Subaru with 150,000 miles on it, but it’s in nice shape and (most importantly) has excellent crash safety ratings!

A buddy of mine is in similar circumstances, and we got to talking about how different it was when we were our kids’ ages. I remember riding around with him in his 60’s era VW Beetle and, if they had crash safety ratings back then, the Beetle would not have earned 5 stars! I had a succession of pretty bad cars, including an ’82 Honda whose axle broke, causing the wheel to fall off while driving down the road one day.

My favorite was a 1967 Rover 2000TC. That car had been in our family for some time. My father purchased it originally in the late 80s and I acquired it from one of my uncles. It was a bit rough, but still beautiful. British racing green, with a big wooden steering wheel. Classy! It also had the unfortunate habit of boiling the brake fluid, causing the brakes to fade (and by fade, I mean pretty much stop working). Fortunately, it was a manual transmission, so between downshifting and frantically pumping the brakes eventually it would come to a complete stop.

As a parent, you want to provide your kids with the best life possible, while making sure they’re still good humans (i.e. not spoiled and/or entitled). And I absolutely reserve the right to lord it over them every so often by telling them they don’t know how good they have it! If you have little ones at home, savor it. I know it’s a cliché, but cliches become cliches for a reason, because they’re usually true! They really do grow up fast, and one day you’re going to look up and realize your baby doesn’t need you in quite the same way anymore, so enjoy every moment.

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As a reminder, our office will be closed on Monday, May 27 to celebrate Memorial Day. To all the veterans, thank you for your service. Also, Tuscano summer hours commence on Friday, May 24. Every Friday from Memorial Day through Labor Day our office will close at 3pm. 

As always, I’d love to hear how we’re treating you. Please call or drop me a line to let me know!

Robin

robin@tuscano.com

(C) 724-454-3516