It's been stated many times that as parents our kids passions become our own. Well Stacy and I have proven that true time and time again over our years of parenting. But what happens when your child's passions are in direct conflict with our own? An interesting phenomenon occurs, and we embrace their desire and swallow our own distaste for whatever it is we formally despised. This post definitely falls under the "American Dad" theme of my subject matter, and I hope you enjoy it.
The back story -
When Nolan turned 16 we bought him an 89 F150 4WD. Canary yellow (So he was easy to identify around town) A fairly nice older truck, simple enough that he and I could make basic repairs as needed, but fuel injected so it would be much more dependable then older carbureted models. This truck has kind of become his identity around our small town, sporting an American flag on the back, an ALDER 52 football, and NRA sticker on the back glass. He rolls around town playing country music a little to loud, and drives a little to fast. (But I guess we all did) Nolan is a conservative "red blooded", patriotic, American kid, and I couldn't be more proud of that. Well just like almost every country boy, Nolan immediately fell in love his first truck, and wanted to start working on it. First it was an alternator, then shocks, brakes, tires, radiator, the list goes on and on. All of which I agreed needed done, and supported. Until the day back in early spring when Nolan came home and said this.
"Dad, I'm going to put a 6" lift on my truck". (Me) What?! Why in the world would you want to do that? (Nolan) "Why Not?! And Because it looks cool"! (Spoken like a 16 year old) I quickly provided a good case as to why it was a terrible idea to make such an extreme change on a 27 year old truck. He insisted that he and his buddy RJ, who had recently also put a 6" lift under his Chevy truck were going to do it. I reminded him that it was "technically" my truck and that it was a very bad idea. Not drawing a line in the sand, but feeling pretty confident that I had defused and avoided that catastrophe.
The Suprise -
Nolan, went on about his way and didn't say a whole lot more about it except for occasional hint. Summer came, and he went to work at our local Kroger store stocking shelves. Well about three weeks ago, he came into the room excited and said "Dad, I have been saving money all summer and I just ordered my lift kit"! Less than impressed with the statement, I rolled my eyes, scoffed at him and dismissed his excitement with with my own dismay. "Well you and RJ better figure this out, because it's not going to me me rolling around on the barn floor, I can tell you that." I barked at him.
Now those of you who know me well, know that of all the many things I'm involved with, interested in, or enjoy, automotive work is the farthest thing from that list. I despise it, loathe it, avoid it, and when I'm able, I pay someone else to do it. Sure enough a week later the lift kit arrived. Nolan quickly rushed into the barn with it and started tearing through all the boxes, (It reminded me of Christmas morning when the kids were little) He was excited as could be and started planning the installation. Since all this talk of the 6" lift started, his buddy RJ had taken on a new job, and now didn't have nearly the extra time he had before. So I knew that meant one thing, I was going to get stuck figuring out how to install this stupid lift kit under this old truck. Well in the spirit of good parenting, I mentally prepared myself for the frustration I knew was ahead, because I knew that Nolan would need my help. Now he already knows how much effort I put into avoiding auto mechanic work, So I'm sure it surprised him the first night when I said, Nolan lets go get started on your truck.
The Project -
The project started on August 1st, and ran through August 13. With both of our busy schedules limiting our available time to work on it, it was usually from 7:00pm until midnight plus all day on the weekends. The instructions that came with the lift kit indicated that it was a 6 hour project, which I would say was "slightly" understated since it ran 13 days for us. But I'm sure it had nothing to do with the fact that neither one of us had really any clue what we were doing or that all the bolts were seized up. Regardless, one swear word, one steel rivet, one busted finger, and one rusty bolt at a time, we worked together and got his lift kit installed.
At one point along the way Nolan was looking into bigger tires online as any young excited redneck kid installing a lift kit on their truck would do, so I ask what he had in mind. He said he had already purchased new black rims. He told me he was on Craig's list and found the "perfect tires" 35x12.5xr15's (with absolutely no tread left). What he really meant was he found terrible tires that would fit that he could afford. I quickly pointed out that not 1500 miles ago I put a brand new set of tires on that truck, and that I expected brand new tires on it when we were finished. I explained that having good tires was important to me, and a matter of safety for him and the other kids. "Dad, I can't afford those!" He said. "Well I guess you should have thought of that before we started tearing your truck apart" (I replied). I saw this as a good lesson in planning out the costs of an entire project before diving into it. After a little tormenting about him buying new tires, we worked out a deal where we would help him afford the new set of tires. So on this past Saturday the 13th, we completed the lift kit and had it in the tire shop by Monday morning (Getting those BRAND NEW 35x12.5R15's).
The "take-away"
Prior to starting, this was one of the most dreaded and daunting projects that I could have ever been faced with. But in retrospect, while I still hate working on vehicles, (and probably always will) this was one of my all time favorite things that Nolan and I have ever done together. We worked together, learned together, made mistakes together, fixed our mistakes together, bloodied our knuckles together, pushed through failures and enjoyed successes together, and at the end of it all we accomplished it together. He learned a lot about common sense, and basic mechanics, and practical knowledge working with your hands. While I learned a lot about how smart, mature, strong and determined he really is. I can't believe I'm saying this, but deep down inside, I'm just a little sad that the project is complete. (But Just a little) One of the last nights we spent working on it, around midnight after we had gone inside. He popped his head out of his bedroom, and simply said this. "Dad, thanks so much for helping me with this, I couldn't have done it without you, and I really appreciate it".
For some this might seem like a somewhat expected response, but coming from him, this meant the world to me. Neither one of us will ever forget the stupid mistakes we made, how frustrated we got along the way, the time we spent, or how FREAKING COOL that truck is now....
I Hope you have enjoyed this real life story and the pictures below.
Sincerely,
Matt
(PS - 16 days to Dove season)
Nolan's truck before we started
Project Under way
Looking Good! LOL
progress? With the axle sitting on the ground.
Can you see my excitement? :)
After the lift, before wheels and tires
Project complete!
