Observations on Mid-Life Crises, Babies, and Sportscars

Last year my dad came home and announced he'd bought a Mustang. My mother rolled her eyes and mouthed the words "mid life crisis" at me from across the room. After a statement like that, of course neither of us could refrain from laughing. My dad, suddenly defensive, told us that, "It is NOT a mid life crisis. I bought this car with Thomas in mind." Right, he bought a gas-guzzling muscle car for my brother, who was not yet sixteen at the time, because that is of course COMPLETELY PRACTICAL. However, Dad kept insisting that this was Thomas's car and that it had not ever crossed his mind once that it was a Mustang and he would like to own one because he never had before. Especially despite the fact that his twin brother has had Mustangs for years.

We at first pretended to believe him. That is, we pretended to believe him until it came time for my car and my mother's car to need oil changes. To his credit, Dad is great with cars. If he had the desire to, he could easily be a car mechanic and has saved our family thousands of dollars by working on cars himself instead of taking them into shops. So naturally Mom and I assumed he would be the one changing our oil and that it would take precedence over other projects.

Apparently though, installing an expensive radio in "Thomas's" Mustang was more important than our humble cars' oil changes. Mom ended up taking hers to the shop, and my car's oil was changed after I continued to bother Dad about it 1000 miles after the required 3000 mile oil change.

I would now like to change directions and say a bit in my Dad's behalf. he and my mom have done a tremendous job as parents. Even when Dad was out of work, we never really were hurting. They have always been very money conscious and frugal, putting their children before themselves. So by the time Thomas and I both had jobs, the house was paid off, and they were both working full time, Dad was in his mid-forties. Had he really ever had a chance to buy a Mustang before? He did have a sports car when he started driving, which he had saved up for and bought himself.

Therefore, is it really fair to call it a mid-life crisis? If he'd bought the car twenty years ago, no one would have said a word. The radio insident not withstanding, he can't help that he's in his mid-life before he could really buy whatever car he wanted. And even still, now that my brother is sixteen, he is the primary driver of the car. I would say that this same principal applies to the majority of men going through their "mid life crises." Had they not had children, they would have been able to afford their toy cars much earlier in life. So the next time you judge a man pulling up to a stop light in an expensive sports car, maybe cut him a little slack.

And that's why my family will consist of dogs and sports cars BEFORE the babies.