Ok, so we are selling our car and minivan to buy a truck for hubs and likely a suv for me. No more car payments! So we have been talking to our kids about this, letting them know what is coming up. Our daughter is 12, son 9. Of course they are excited and can't wait to see what we get.
So hubs drop off our car yesterday to get some work done on it before we sell it. The owners of the shop offer to let me drive their "extra" BMW while they have my car. Hubs texts me this info and that he's on his way home. I'm thinking, YIPEE! I get to drive a BMW for a couple days!
So hubs comes home, I go outside...uh, lets just say, well...I'll *try* to describe it...its tan, the hood has SEVEN different "sample" colors painted on it. Some of the siding is missing, the bumper is TIED on the back,its dented all over, the window won't roll up and well, I can't even describe the inside. It basically looks like it came from the dump.
So I joke with hubs and tell him we should tell the kids this is our new car...we think it will be hysterical!
Its parked in our driveway...my son comes running in the house after school, hubby and I are ready to ask him if he likes our new car...before we even get a word out, I see he's crying, says something like "mom! that piece of junk isn't OUR new car is it? ITS SO EMBARASSING!!"
I felt HORRIBLE! Here we thought it was funny and it took me quite a while to calm him down. I even told him we could wear a disguise like a hat and sun glasses when we drive it. Although I thought it was funny, I did end up taking him with me to rent a car from enterprise for the rest of the week (which hubs and I already agreed to do when he drove it home). Our daughter did think it was funny, and for a minute I think she almost believed that it was ours too.
Have you ever tried to do something that you thought was funny and the kids CLEARLY didn't think so?
Yes, we did talk to him about being grateful for what we have, to not judge people by what they drive, not everyone can have a "nice" car and that's ok. We do live in a *nicer* area so he is not used to seeing these kind of cars every day. And I have quite a few things to do this week and I honestly don't care about the looks of the car, but the inside is really a mess, dirty and old used rags and oil cans, mechanical *things*, I don't know what all, the back seat is full, he couldn't even SIT back there. So driving it for other reasons than looks is really not an option. But I can't risk breaking down, which is why we got the rental car.
LOL, I would have so did this!
So about 3 days after Easter, mysteriously there was a dead bunny next to my girls swingset. (They are 6 and 4) Ya, I said "Oh my gosh the Easter Bunny died!" My daughter who is 6 did not believe it for a second. She said mom "The Easter bunny is white and A LOT taller" My 4 year old didn't seem to care one way or the other. LOL
My daughter has that plastic food- you know the kind, plastic eggs, french fries, etc. Well, there is a plastic hamburger that mimics the size, color, and look of poop. Last night, after washing off my daughter, I put it in the bathtub before my 5 yo son got in. It looked just like she had pooped in the bath water. I thought it was hilarious. Well, he jumped in, took one look at that poo (aka burger), screamed, jumped out, busting his knee on the side of the tub. I felt so HORRIBLE! After he confirmed he was ok, we had a really good laugh. This morning I found the poo burger on the living room carpet. I thought our dog had let one slip before realizing it was the plastic burger. I guess the joke inevitably was on ME! lol
Wow,
I do not mean this to sound mean, but I hope you speak with your son about not judging others, that may HAVE to drive an old beat up car, because that is all they can afford. We never know what may come.. Ad I mean it can change on a dime.
Also speak about how fortunate you all are to be able to even joke about this being your car.
Yes, we have had to drive what I am positive others have thought were atrocious. I just had to suck it up and be glad I even had a car.
Our daughter attended our neighborhood schools where there are families on the far end of both sides of the income scale. We being on the low end. She never acted as though she was embarrassed by us our home or our vehicles. She knew we worked very hard for the little we have compared to others.
I think she is better for it.
My kids were all highly insulted when I bought a poster that showed a group of attitude laddened teens and read:
TEENAGERS, Tired of Being Harassed by Your Stupid Parents? ACT NOW, Move Out, Get a Job, Do it NOW While you still Know Everything!
Not exactly my message, but I thought it was funny. They did not.
I saw your snazzy beemer pix on FB. My daughter would LOVE it!
:)
I too have to agree with some ladies........I would've not rented a car because your son thought it was embarrassing . Couple years back we had to drive a 30 year old Mercedes that we found on craigstist for $600.Our only car got repossessed,when he hit some hard times. That was all we could afford. Only 2 doors opened, windows would not roll down, paint was falling off, it had no air/heat, there was no way of making the car seats tight (and we had a 1 yo and a 3 y o old at that time) Hubby was working as a salesmen for Sharp and had to drive that thing into work, but we were thankful that he could get to work.
I know it's meant to be for fun, but if you ever been in the real situation like that it's not funny....sorry.
My grandparents wrapped up a brick in a radio box for Christmas when my dad was a kid. He STILL talks about how mean it was, and it totally ruined it when he actually got the radio...and it's been 40+ years. Geez, kids need to get a sense of humor :)
we were poor so my parents DID buy the huge car with actual bullet holes in it that backfired when you drove it! talk about embarassing, top that off with a loud drunk dad and you get perfection
Not on the kids, mine are too young, but we have a joke we do on new girls at work. I work at a salon, so we take.the hand mirrors, the ones you use to look at the back of your hair and tape crazy pictures on them. So new girl does a really cute cut or style on someone and goes to show them the.back, and instead there is a big ugly monkeyface or Arnold schwartnager or something, its hilarious. The best one was one girl was obsessed with twilight, so we got a picture of Edward and bella and cut out bellas face so.it looked like you were in the picture with him, too funny.
OMG! I saw the pic of your loaner car on FB. It sure is awesome! :-P
Kids haven't developed a sense of humors like an adults. It would have been a great opportunity to teach your kids that looks don't matter. I would have said, yeah, it isn't pretty, but do you want to go to your soccer game by walking the 10 miles??? If you're going to be car payment free then you must want to make a life change. Time to start preaching to the kids! :)
I never did anything to my kid, yet... but when my sister and I were younger my mom thought it would be a great idea to tell us that we were going to the snow. We packed our suitcases, full of winter clothing, and then we piled into the car. Mom and dad drove us all to LA to go to Disney Land. SURPRISE! they shouted at us.
I was so upset. I knew we were at Disney Land but I was fourteen years old and only had turtlenecks, sweaters and long pants packed. All the pictures from that vacation had me way overdressed, cheeks pink and my face glowing with sweat.
I was pretty miserable. Not only did I not get to do all the fun things I was psyching myself up to do in the snow, but I was hot as the devils armpit the entire trip.
Disney Land is no fun for a teenager with an inappropriate wardrobe.
Not so much as in she didn't think so but...
Our favorite thing to tease her with now is if something goes missing I tell her I ate it. Big things like an umbrella, or a book, something along those lines. She always giggles (she's 3 1/2) and says, "Noooooo, you don't eat it!" and I will say that's right we don't eat (insert thing I have claimed to eat)
So we are driving down the street and she says, "Where's my umbrella?"
"I ate it."
"Nooooo, you don't eat umbrellas."
"That's right we don't"
We pass a field of horses and she pipes up, "We eat horses?"
I say, "Noooooo we don't eat horses." she is laughing at the fun game.
We pass another field, "We eat cows?".....the whole car goes dead silent. I finally pop up with, "Is this a conversation I want to have?"
She laughs and says," Nooooooo."
Whew. I told my husband, "See how I got out of that artfully without having to lie?"
Our son is too young to torment with bad practical jokes but I know my husband. The day is coming.
As for your son being ungrateful, snobby, etc. Please. I grew up really poor. My mom drove POS cars, fed us rotten food and dressed us in hand me downs. I was grateful for what little we had but I was also miserable being the butt of all the other kids' jokes. Life is not as black and white as people make it sound. Undoubtedly your son has some inkling of how much of a pariah he would have been. For better or worse he did give you the unvarnished truth.
Ha! Yes! My kids were squabbling about something last night and I apparently did something that was "unfair" and my oldest said, "why did you let him do it?" (picture this in the most whiny annoying voice ever) Jokingly I replied, "Because I love him more." OOPS!
my older son ran crying to his room. . . I had a lot of explaining to do :(
A lot of times the "practical joke" is only funny to the one doing the joke, not to the one the joke is being played on.
On u-tube there is a practial joke being played on a sleeping girl on a sandy beach. She is apparently sound asleep. Her "friend" uses a pair of scissors to cut her bikini top between the cups and at the straps going around her neck and around the sides. Then they place a plastic lobster on her thigh and wake her up. She of course jumps up and screams. Her top comes apart and falls to the sand as she jumps up and she uses her hands to cover up as she is screaming and falling down after have jumped up. You can hear her friends talking and laughing as they are playing this prank and laughing and filming.
Then there is the bikini that was taken apart and the straps on the top and bottom were resown with water soluable thread. It was a "get even" prank because of what she did as a prank to her husband and friends. The poor lady didn't notice her bikini was coming apart as she was rough housing in the water with friends. Two hands just couldn't cover all she wanted to hide.
Just be sure you are willing to be the "victim" if you decide to do practical jokes. Because there is almost always a payback.
Good luck to you and yours.
