Emma and the Mouse

As the kids and I were backing up to leave the church parking lot today Andrew came running over and asked us to wait a few minutes. Apparently his car was starting, but not idling, so every time he'd move the key back to the "on" position, the car would die. Frustrating...and definitely NOT something that can easily be fixed in a moment's time in the church parking lot. We parked near him as he tried several more times to get it going without success. We decided we'd all drive around for a bit, give the car time to settle down, and try again. Again, no success. So as we all drove home, there was tension in the air. Just frustration at having a car unexpectedly fail and knowing that with all we've got going on right now, buying a new car, or even fixing the one we've got, is NOT what we want to be focused on. We were all quiet, allowing time to ease the stress. Out of nowhere Emma pipes up from the backseat, "Hey Dad! I know why your car won't work. There's a mouse in your trunk." (imagine this in Emma's sweet toddler voice.) I was DYING trying SO HARD NOT to laugh because I wasn't sure how Andrew would react. But it was the most innocent, hilarious comment. She wasn't trying to be funny. She was really trying to fix the problem. It was great. And like a great dad, Andrew smiled, and continued the conversation with Emma about how the mouse got in his trunk. The whole rest of the ride home featured all 4 of us concocting different scenarios involving various animals getting into Andrew's car, laughing the whole way. Ah, memories.

As a side note, after lunch and naps, we drove back to the church and the car started right up. Guess that mouse got away!