For Dinner Tonight...Crow

I ended up working all day today. I was interrupted from my gut splitting time of budgets by the following telephone call:

"Hi Dad, it's Jami."

"Hi Boogs."

"Can you drive me to pick up a car tomorrow. I am getting it for $250."

Thoughts are running through my head of what type of vehicle could cost $250."

In my usual supporting nature of my daughter learning life the hardest way possible, "Sure, no problem. What time?"

"I don't know yet. I will call you back."

Well, I get to see my daughter tomorrow.

On my way home however, I received a phone call from the Queen informing me that I was to pick up the eldest daughter at her current residence and be prepared to pick up all of her crap.

Huh?

Well, the eldest and the landlord were at odds (like she turned off the power to the room she was in) and it blew up to very bad proportions. I have not had the eldest explain this yet, just the Queen. The Queen informed me that Jami has finally hit rock bottom.

I knew this. I knew Jami had too much pride to mention it unless she was in a no-win, no-escape situation. After dinner with the entire family, we had the talk. I asked her what the situation was and she started to explain to me that once she bought the car, they could pack their stuff up and stay in a hotel for a couple weeks until they had enough money to rent a "cottage" listed for $650 per month.

As some of you already know, I actually like running numbers through my head. So the questions starting flying...She make $250 per week. She has $254 in her pocket. Bank accounts...$14. The car costs $250 leaving her enough for 1 gallon of gas. Tags and title are around $250 so she will not be able to take it out on the street after she buys it. Insurance for her POS car (think Adam Sandler) will run about $150 per month. The "motel" will run her $143 per week. She planned to be there for two weeks before moving into the "cottage." The deposit for the "cottage"...two months rent.

After explaining the numbers to her, she looked at me knowing that she had no hope of 1. buying a car or 2. getting in a hotel with all of her stuff. She began the "We go dumpster diving and sell it. We make good money from that. That will help."

With one look, it was done. After a long pregnant pause and a bit of eye movement toward the Queen, we invited her home with all of our conditions (which included rent). For the next few months, I will be making $250 per month from the bedroom my child had before she was old enough to move out. Isn't life grand. My daughter is back home...and paying me to be here.

This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). Life lessons are meant to be learned. Some lesson are harder than others and require a schooling in hard knocks. As for me, I learned that my parenting doubts "what did I do wrong" or "what did I miss," were not wrong after all. Humility, the lesson I could never teach my eldest, had to be learned on her own.

Did you know...

Almonds are members of the peach family.