The Yellow Car

This is the story of the yellow car.

Or, as Preston calls it the "wewow car".

This past Saturday, our ward had a fundraiser for the Boy Scouts. People donated items to be sold at a garage sale, and all the proceeds went to support the boy scout camp this year.

They do this every year, and I wanted to be sure get there bright and early because I had heard in previous years they had a lot of baby items for sale. We were in need of a few items of furniture for Baby #2, namely a bigger dresser, and another crib.

When Preston and I arrived at 8:30 a.m., I noticed a nice selection of bikes and strollers and a few toys. Such, as the huge yellow car you see in these photos. Preston, of course, noticed the car right away and went over and started touching it, climbing in it, pretending to drive, etc.

It was a great babysitter while I combed the rest of the garage sale. I found the perfect dresser I was in need of, as well as a few other smaller items. No crib though, but that's okay.

I kept checking on Preston, to make sure he was doing okay. He never left that car. He would get out and push it around, then go sit in it, then get out again and push it.

The car had a price tag of only $25 on it, and everyone kept asking me if I was going to buy it for him. I had called Will twice already asking him if he thought it would be okay to get it for Preston, and the answer was continually no. For one thing, Will thinks Preston needs to learn that he can't always have everything he sees. We've had some issues with him seeing things in stores and wanting them and then having a huge fit when we don't buy it for him.

The other reason was simply that we didn't have the money budgeted. I know $25 doesn't seem like a lot of money, but our "baby/kid" budget is already stretched so thin as it is with this new little one coming (hence the reason we are looking at garage sales for items we need, instead of buying new).

So after an hour at the garage sale, I finally had to do the horrible task of prying Preston away from the car and hauling him to his carseat.

It was quite the scene. An embarrassing one too.

There was a grandmother standing there telling me I needed to buy this car for him, or she would and then have it delivered. I kept trying to tell her thank you, but no. Several ward members kept saying "Awe you have to buy it for him!"

So as my child screamed "Car!? Car!?" I hauled him to his carseat while everyone watched, and I felt like Mother-of-the-Year. Then we drove away.

A few minutes down the road, as I listened to Preston's sobs and him telling me "This way! This way" as he pointed back to the church parking lot, I felt terrible. I kept thinking, it's only $25. His birthday is on Sunday, I should just get it for him.

So I turned the car around and started driving back to the church. I called Will and told him that I would just buy the car out of my own spending money budget (which wasn't much as it was). Will said he would split it with me. And that was that.

So I pulled back into the church parking lot and right as I pulled into a parking spot, I saw another man eyeing the yellow car with his son.

Oh no.

I kind of watched them for a minute (as Preston was watching as well and crying "Car? Car?" in the backseat). A couple of the ward members walked up to me and I asked them if that guy had already boughten the car. They said "He's going to." Ah! Seriously? My son just spent the last hour playing with it, and I leave for 2 minutes and someone else buys it?

I actually wanted to cry. For one thing, I felt stupid for not just buying it earlier, and secondly I just felt dumb and upset.

I walked up to the guy, who spoke Spanish (and I hoped he could speak a little English) and I asked "Are you going to buy?" and he said "Yes." And I said "Ah" and stood there for a few minutes and he messed around with the car to see if the battery worked or not.

One of the guys from our ward came up to me and said "You know what, I'm just going to tell him that you were already going to buy it." I felt terrible of course, but that is exactly what happened next. He went up to the guy, told him someone else was already planning to buy it, and it was done.

The yellow car was our's.

Of course, the other guy was quite upset about it and so they promised to let him have some free items from the garage sale.

Another ward member loaded the yellow car into the back of his truck and followed us home. And of course, Preston saw someone else take the car and thought he was once again not getting it and cried a very sad cry all the way home.

As we pulled into our driveway, so did the truck with the yellow car.

I got Preston out of his carseat, blotchy red face, tears, and all. He saw the yellow car and instantly stopped crying, stopped, and said "Zoom!"

He spent the next hour outside in the blazing sun playing with the yellow car and being as happy as can be. I pushed him around in it as much as I could for being almost 8 months pregnant, and then we finally went upstairs to get some lunch.

Later we found after charging the battery that it doesn't work (we think it needs a new battery), and so right now it's acutally sitting in Preston's room. Which, I might add, takes up a HUGE corner of his room. But last night before going to bed he waved at the yellow car and said "Night night car."

I'm not advocating spoiling your child.

And as it is, this car is way too big for Preston. He can't even reach the pedals.

But you should see him smile.

Happy 2nd birthday kiddo.