In Omnia Paratus

Photo: Our kids playing in the uber-depressing waiting room at the Pep Boys in Norristown. It had the distinct pungent odor of rubber and all the associations of testosterone-rife workplaces where misogyny and money-swindling are present.

We are in the middle of what Geoff calls our "transportation odyssey." On the way to a large family event, our minivan left us stranded on the turnpike. We spent Saturday afternoon in 3 different tow trucks, zigzagging the county in our best party clothes. It boils down to a van that is getting old, how to fix it, and how we might go about getting another car. In the midst of this, getting the run-around from the mechanic, the towing people, and then trying to foresee how buying another car would affect our financial stability.

I have been asking, "What could this mean?" When the timing belt snapped, Geoff and I looked at eachother searching for the grownup within each of us. Being stranded threw us a series of curveballs, we had to respond with unified and wise maturity. Geoff and Manny rode with the car towing the van whose driver had a Dungeon's and Dragon's hairdo. I had the three others with me in the bigger truck and tried to keep up morale by feeding them chicken tenders and gum. We had a lovely family dinner at Genuardi's followed by an interminable stay at the Norristown Pep Boys. Finally, we got rescued by Jeremy. Heroism took the form of a van to fit all of us and a Veggie Tales soundtrack.

How do you do it? Teach your kids that they will always be safe, that things are okay and good when you want to shake your fist at crooks and choke swindlers? How do you keep a game face for your kids when faced with the disappointments that life brings?