Shopping in the Rain

You never know when great moments are coming. You can try to plan them. You can try to engineer them. But that doesn't usually work. And very often they just present themselves in disguises that are so hard to recognize that you almost pass them up.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from my son. That in itself is a pretty memorable event. Like many young men, he's not particularly communicative. When I see his number pop up on my caller id, it's time for celebration. I'm not naive. I know he's not calling to chat; there's always a purpose to his call. But I don't care. If he's going to hit me up for something, I'm going to make him work for it. So, we did the dance for awhile. I knew he wanted something and he knew that I knew. It didn't take long for him to get to the point. He wanted to go look for a car and he wanted to know if I could go along.

I had just gotten home from work. It was raining. It was cold. I wanted nothing more than to hunker down with a cup of tea and my down comforter. So, what did I do? I put on my coat, grabbed an umbrella and got in the car.

We were the only crazy people on the lots so, of course, we had the undivided attention of every dealership we entered. Sitting with the salesmen, I couldn't help remembering shopping for my first car with my father. Back in the dark ages, when you could actually afford a brand new car on a part-time job salary, it was fun. Yes, my dad had to co-sign but the numbers were so much less daunting than they are now. I could see it on my son's face; reality was setting in. What he could afford and what he wanted were not living in the same neighborhood.

We left the last lot with a collection of business cards and no car. But the evening wasn't over. Twenty minutes later we were sitting in Olive Garden sharing a carafe of wine, a pasta dinner and a whole lot of conversation. By this time, his girlfriend had joined us. And I didn't mind a bit.

So, bring on the rain. Bring on the snow. Bring on the obnoxious car salesmen. It's all worth it if I get to spend a whole evening with my kid.