I don’t often brag about my daughters, though my youngest disagrees. She told me I’m quick to tell everyone about the costumes she makes and her and her sister’s artistic talents. Regardless of her opinion, I still try to reserve bragging for the bigger, unique aspects in both my daughters’ repertoire. Not because I’m not proud of them, but I feel like it takes away their personal accomplishments by making them about me.

However, this one here is a doozy. Last week my oldest did something so ingenious that most genuine adults (as opposed to the 22 year old variety) would not have pulled it off. Her car started making horrible noises as she drove down state Route 18 so she decided to get off the highway and head for Issaquah. She figured it would be easier to find her in a town than on the highway because she knew she needed to stop driving the car before it broke down. She then recognized Issaquah-Hobart as the same road the wrecking yard her dad frequents was on. She knew they fixed cars or at least would be a good place for her dad to find her. After arriving, the owners went to work identifying the problem. Dad was called. Collaboration was done. Realizations were made.

Here’s where my daughter’s ingenuity shone. Turns out, the engine came to within inches of its life and almost threw a rod. I don’t know what that means exactly, something about pistons, bearings, and the crankshaft. Just really bad news. I feel like her quick thinking should somehow be chalked up to our fine parenting. However, it has nothing to do with me, because, quite honestly, I probably would have tried to make it home.

Her dad gets all the credit, but even then, I don’t think he ever said, ‘If driving on Highway 18 and your engine makes a bad noise, go to the wrecking yard.’ There must’ve been some sort of heed from him that filtered into her consciousness to act quickly upon, in her words, “a jiggly, clicking noise that sounded like something was loose and was going to fly off into the engine and break something.” Which it very well may have. It could also be in her DNA passed on to her from her father who is all things cars. It’s not by chance both our daughters have used vehicles that he can easily work on.

Though I do think all those above factors were in play during her decision making process, I also have to credit her easy going nature (also a hand-me-down from her dad). As in, she didn’t panic. Of our two kids, this one has spent the most time broken down somewhere. My youngest has always been at home when problems with her car arose. Having a dad come to the rescue is in my DNA. I spent much of my youth driving questionable running vehicles with my dad coming to my aid. By the time my father passed away, I was married to my car guy.

But back to my daughter’s quick thinking. I only know that had she driven home, had she maybe made it all the way to Issaquah, had she not done what she did at the time she did it, I’d be telling a different story and my husband would be rebuilding a whole engine. Really, quick thinking when driving cars, or dating for that matter, is what all fathers want for their daughters. If they can handle a car, they can handle a man.

Gretchen Leigh is a stay-at-home mom who lives in Covington. You can read more of her writing on her website livingwithgleigh.com, follow her on Facebook at “Living with Gleigh by Gretchen Leigh”or on Twitter @livewithgleigh. Her column is also available at maplevalleyreporter.com under the Life section.