I love having my 3 year old son "work" out in the garage with me. Sometimes Henry J just sits in the driveway and plays with his die cast cars, but more often than not he's much more active. This time he wanted to sit in my '39 Mercury and "drive" fo... <BR><BR>To read the rest of this blog entry from The Jalopy Journal, click here.
The cool thing about having kids is you get the chance to see things from their perspective. Makes us better dads and people in general. Memories of events like this for kids can be good or bad, sometimes we are lucky enough to get the opportunity to chose which it will be.
Growing up in the garage with my father provided memories that I treasure to this day (he passed when I was 21). I am sure I broke a part or two along the way, but if I ever frustrated him, he never let on. Although, a friend of his loves to tell the story of when I (as a 2 or 3 year old) wanted to know what would happen when I turned the handle on the jack while he was working under our family's Merc. Luckily he had used jackstands, but I was taken into the house for the rest of the day after that!
Amen, and when you are my age, geezer status over 70, those memories with your little guy will be priceless. I have a picture of my son, who is now 45, sitting on the fender of a '41 Chevy pickup in his diaper with streaks of grease on his cheeks because he was "heping poppa". I love that photo and the memories it brings back. Just like the pictures of our first grandson, not yet walking but in the seat of our flathead digger, gripping that butterfly wheel. At some point in life, the Good Lord lets you forget all the stuff like broken mirrors and arguments with kids when they were teens, and you just have the good times to reflect on, a wonderful thing.
Reminds me of the day my little man accidentally broke a NOS thickstun air cleaner I had. I wasn't frustrated, I was PISSED. And just as I was about to raise my voice and make Miller go back in the house, I saw the tears running from his face. He felt SOOO bad. My anger was quickly followed by shame. I just threw the damned thing on the cabinet and told him it was no big deal. "You can buy those at Walmart," I said. "Don't sweat it." I think we both learned a lesson there. At the end of the day, this old shit isn't all that important. The time hanging out in the garage is. .... Conversely, I have a shit bag neighbor that's into Brit Bikes. His four year old little girl dented his gas tank with a wrench while pretending to work on the bike. My wife and kids were over there at the time and he blew his lid. Marcie called me and I walked over to see the dude basically beating the kid in front of my family. That time, shame didn't get in the way of any anger. I taught that dude about a whole new level of FUCKING crazy. Hell, I scared myself. Needless to say, my kids aren't allowed over there anymore... And I'm certain I'm not either - for completely different reasons.
You know that a glass shop can cut you a new mirror, and the small dent can be fixed.. It's worth the price of the mirror at the glass shop, just to watch them cut it. Then you are only left with memories and no broken parts. Good luck and enjoy the little helper while you can.
Glad you didnt get mad and stayed calm. If you're lucky, years from now he'll be working in the garage and making sure you dont mess anything up!
Im sure I broke a ton of my dads stuff along the way. I'm glad he let me hang out in the shop with him, learning to work on harleys and old cars. And all the years working on wood boats from the 30's 40's and 50's in the boat yard. I remember a few times I was a pain in the ass, but he always kept teaching me.. Kids accidentally breaking things is a byproduct of them wanting to hang out with their dad and be involved in what he likes. Reading the part about Ryan's neighbor treating his daughter like that just made my fucking blood boil, I couldn't imagine what would have happened if I actually witnessed it. Poor little girl just wanted to be like her dad. We should all be so fortunate. FUCK that guy.
My kids turn 5 and 3 this summer, so they are very curious in the garage and my tools right now, but not quite big enough to help much. I had a handful of really small screwdrivers that came with a toolbox from my grandfather that are slightly bigger than an eyeglass repair screwdriver but way to small for most things I do. The kids use those and take apart the metal body on plastic chassis toy cars I pick up at garage sales and swap meets. As of yet they have never managed to get one back together and in working order without my help, but they sure love tearing them apart...
As I have become a senior citizen I often think back about all the stuff I broke, destroyed and damaged as a kid "helping" my dad in his TV repair shop. And a lot of household items my mother collected that somehow got broken on my watch. I look back and feel bad about a lot of it but cannot think of one time that they got angry and lashed out at me for what I did. I was corrected a lot. Got a spanking everyday of my life for meanness but not accidents. I just hope that I had been as good a parent as mine were......I'll have to ask my kids someday. Nah, they might tell me something I don't want to hear.
LilT is in the shop with me most nights. Sometimes you have to just let them go and learn for themselves, gives you a chance to pull out the "see I told ya".Nothing huge has been broken but he has had a few scares. We take breaks to play catch or a game of pig, his two favorites right now.
I have fond memories of working with my pops. There was definitely a transition from breaking things and taking them apart, for dad to fix later. Then growing older and becoming the fixer. I miss my Dad everyday, but will always have memories of me, my pops and tools. I hope to have a kid of my own here soon, and cant wait to introduce them to tools, and our Hobby in general.
I love that there are cool dads on the HAMB. It kind of balances out the disturbingly large number of sociopaths. Kids are bigger than stuff any day of the week.
Great comments from a lot of good Dad's! I too have been guilt of being upset,,livid is more like it,, when my 2 year old daughters worked on my model A pickup fender with the body hammers after I had spent hours getting it smooth and dent free,,,I lost it! Seeing them in tears,,I realized I was in the wrong I picked up the hammer,gave both of them a hammer we together we beat that fender unmercifully for about 10 minutes. I learned a lesson that day,,that no matter what happened I loved my girls much more that a old object. HRP
When Iwas 4, I broke the key off in the glove box lock in my dad's 36 Chevy pu. He still has both. Good call on the air cleaner and the biker scum, Ryan.
stuff happens, can it be repaired? maybe new mirror or new head on the stem, hope so very cool piece. But as you say bro, only stuff. keep on keepin on. ~sololobo~
Just a couple weeks ago I drove my truck to work and left my 63 grand prix in the driveway. When the wife and kids got home, my 7 year old son opened the door of my wife's car too fast and hit my Pontiac putting a chip in my 6 month old paint job. My wife said he instantly broke down crying feeling so bad that he "hurt" daddy's car. I was so pissed off I could hardly see straight when I finally saw the chip, not knowing how it had happened. When my wife explained to me that my son did it and his reaction afterwards, I realized he loves the car about as much as I do and I hope when he's older he'll have fond memories of riding around with dad in the old Pontiac.
Wow...was that neighbor the dude with the conservative stickers all over his car? (hates the prez, and all that) Just curious...
My Grandpa got to the point he would hide the tools when I came over as a little kid. Never got mad at me but did tell me to go see my Grandma for a snack more than once. He died a few years back. I have his truck and all his tools. I remember there being more tools when I was a kid...
Been there and done that on both ends of the age range! And now I have a grandkid who is nearly old enough to start breaking parts... Jive, drop me a line. I have a bag of those mirrors, and I think the spare one lacks the thermometer and might be what you need for repairs. I can dig into the mirror warehouse tomorrow.
Wow funny how damn near all of us broke stuff when we were kids in our dad's garage! I have many fond memories of screwing around, breaking stuff, getting yelled at and sent in the house crying. But I came back for more! I thank my dad for all most of my knowledge! On memorial day weekend we're going to R&R the cylinder head on my '05 Colorado. Looking forward to wrenching and drinking beer with the old man on that 3-day weekend!
Looks like you could just replace the mirror, the temp gauge and stem look okay. I'd hang that broken mirror in the shop and take a look in it anytime I felt myself getting pissed about anything out there, I bet it will bring a smile to your face every time. Broken parts can be repaired, broken spirits are a little tougher. Sounds like you handled it well. Now, for Ryan's neighbor on the other hand........................
When my oldest daughter was about six, she was in the garage watching me finish up on a front suspension part rebuild on my '67 Tempest. I was wiping the grease off my tools and putting them away when she asked me "Why are you wiping off your works?" ...it made me smile, realizing the way a child looks at the world...you don't "tool" with those things, you"work" with them...so they're "works"
I broke the door handle on my Dad's '33 Franklin Olympic. The event inspired him to have some door hanldes cast from bronze. He sold bunches of them to the Franklin and REO club members. Then he got into casting all kinds of impossible to find parts and even built his own little foundry. That little msifortune started a casacde of problem solving that benefited a lot of people and a lot of rare cars. Your welcome. My little helper is a great mechinic. You just have to watch where she stashes small parts and tools.
The only time I yelled at my daughter in the garage was when I had my head under the hood and she thought it would be funny to honk the horn (6 volt horn on 12 volts) to see dad jump. I didn't see the humor that time. On the other hand, the time she glued all her fingers with Crazy Glue was a bonding (Ha, ha...I'll be here all week...) experience for us. I drove us to the hobby shop real fast- with her fingers spread wide- to buy more dis-bonder.
Man.....I know exactly how you feel!! My 5 and 7 year olds love to "help" in the garage. Just this weekend, Jake, my 7 year old was trying to open up a window in the tool room and shattered one of the panes. In his desperation to clean up before I saw it, he lanced open his thumb. He tried to cover that up with a wad of shop rags but when I looked up and saw him standing there trying to look unassuming with blood dripping down on the floor. It's always something when they are out there with me but I LOVE it that they even want to be there!! I did the same shit to my Pops and he loves it now to see me doing the same with them!!! Save that mirror for Henry's first ride...it's his now!!
Beautiful. I have a four yr old. That moment where you stop and take a deep breath is everything. They really are so innocent. They are just learning, and thats what we all have to remember, every moment. Thanks guys, I needed a lift today, and this thread gave it to me. Gonna go give my daughter another hug now, before I tear up.
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