in this month of gratitude i wake up and with my only cup of coffee huddle in my winter shirt and blanket by the morning window. yesterday morning i looked out and didn't see the little car, the new one, so i panicked, got out of my seat, went outside, and there it was, pulled way forward, out of my sight, but apparently there.

later my wife went out and found out that it had indeed been totaled, wrecked, but somehow driven back and parked in that unusual way. a couple of teenagers including one of mine had somehow taken the key, gone for a ride, and hit an elk. a fifteen thousand dollar car down the drain in one stupid move, but insurance most likely won't cover it, unless we were to somehow use a lawyer to prove it was theft. my immediate impulse is that we will probably take a big hit here, down one good car at the beginning of winter, and unable to come up with a massive repair bill for major damage to its front. yet somehow they were able to drive it back.

well the kids are good and repentant, and the one who was driving may never ba back to stay overnight, and that may be a major benefit, since he seems to be going in a different direction from the rest. but yet i sit with my coffee here this morning, actually grateful - that they lived (hitting an elk is a life-threatening situation, especially near the cliffs and mountains where it happened) - that they seem to be ok in health (the driver was sitting on top of his own seat belts) - that what appeared to be shock on my son's part was just that, and nothing worse.

down one car, down to an 180,000-mile beater, is a temporary condition - but still somewhat severe as the snows come in. i don't think the financial planners had this accounted for when they were doing their christmas plans. but i also think that since it's mostly teens who would be the recipients of those plans, there will be some understanding of why things are the way they are. it's not like santa is still holding a big promise out in front of them any more. they can recognize when their own foolishness costs them. of course the two who are still in line to get their licenses, and who have done nothing wrong, may not see it that way. but they have a lot to hold against their bigger brother anyway, and can just hold this as one more thing against him.

mom points out that we obviously have to protect this kid from being unable to say no to anyone, in particular a kid who always gets him in trouble. you can't protect a kid from being unable to say no. such things, i mull over with my morning coffee.