Trying to do something right...

[Murgatroy]

So it is no secret that I treat my daughter the way she wants to be treated. She collects Hotwheels, plays with LEGOs and her favorite films are Star Wars.

Her mother is worried that she is a little tomboyish, but she hasn't complained too much.

My wife doesn't know how to operate anything on a vehicle other than the go pedal and the whoa pedal. The little lever thingy goes from P to R to D. That is it.

She has lamented several times that she doesn't know squat about cars, yet she never takes the time to listen when I try to explain something. So on occasion I get the odd phone call in a panicked voice asking what O/D OFF means...

So I have started teaching Rebecca how to talk to cars.

It has been interesting.

I don't use a clutch. I drive trucks. Same thing in Chaos. So I have been teaching Rebecca how to listen to the exhaust note to follow the engine RPM, then blip the throttle to downshift, or float to upshift. She actually runs the shifter for me often when she is riding shotgun.

The other morning I said something to Chaos, and Rebecca asked me what I said. When I explained that I was talking to Chaos, she got confused, and told me that Chaos couldn't talk back.

I told her she was wrong, Chaos could indeed talk, but Rebecca needed to learn how to listen to her.

So Rebecca asked me to translate.

Every day for a week now I hear "What is Chaos saying now Daddy?"

So I explain to her.

"Hear the flat note in her exhaust? Smell the raw fuel? Chaos is telling me she needs new plugs, her old ones are fouled."

"Smell the oil burning as I slow down? Chaos is telling me 'Thanks' for the oil I gave her last night at fill-up."

"See the light on the dash, Chaos is telling me she is thirsty and she needs fuel..."

As the prominent complaint lately has been for plugs, I stopped and got a set this evening. Rebecca helped me install them. She worked the ratchet, and even checked the gap, by the fourth plug, she did it all by herself.

After we were done I told her the most important part of working on a car was driving her.

"Daddy, what is Chaos saying now?"

"She is saying thank you for the spark plugs Rebecca..."

[Chazmr]

What an awesome story.

I suspect she is going to grow up to be a very special, self reliant young lady!

Good for you.

Now how old is Rebecca?

[Murgatroy]

She turned six a couple weeks back.

[Caster]

Best lesson she'll ever learn from you, though you may not teach it to her intentionally; NEVER rely on a another human being for anything you can do yourself. Personally I think all good Daddies should teach their little girls to NEVER put all their faith in a MAN. The pussification of america is destroying us as a people. Now more than ever men should be teaching their little girls to be self reliant and be able to survive in this world as well as the one that's coming soon.

Awesome job Murg. Get her shooting straight and teach her to start a good fire using only one match and she'll be ready for whatever BS life has planned for her.

[analog_kidd]

Before we could get our drivers license, our father made my sister and me learn how to pump our own gas (we grew up when full service was the norm), drive a stick shift, and change a tire. For me I had to learn how to also change the oil, filters and brakes.Teaching kids how to do basic auto maintenance is one of the best things you can do for them. Sounds like you got an awesome young lady there. Keep up the good work.

[Mark A]

Seems to me there is a life rule about self sufficient women and the kind of guys they end up with. A strong, self sufficient woman will end up with a strong man who will act like a man and do manly things. A self sufficient woman is secure enough to let the man do manly things and realize it doesn't diminish her in the least.

Women brought up to be dependent end up with POS men who like to use them for punching bags or girlie men who wouldn't know what to do with a hammer if it hit them in the face. Funny how life works that way.

Mark

[peejman]

Good stuff. Excellent that you're teaching your daughter these things, you never know how far she may go with it.

When my wife and I were dating, she was similar to your wife. As part of her "education", I made her change the oil and change a tire in the parking lot at school. She wasn't happy with me at the time, but thanked me later. Maybe your daughter can get Mom more interested.

Edited September 27, 2012 by peejman