“Bring towels! I spilled some coffee…”

An understatement…

In the crevasses between the seats. Puddles in the cup holders. On the back seat floor too, rivulets of sweet, sticky home-made espresso. And Sweetie is nearly late to her appointment.

MY MISSION: to hold the line against morning frustration—so I laugh as I swipe and dab. Chuckles morph into guffaws—while she licks the side of her dripping cup (don’t tell me you haven’t done it).

After nearly 45 years, we are getting better at taking-in-stride the microscopic “trials” like this one. We stare down absurdities and (some) adversity better than when we were in our 20’s (or 30s, or 40s, or 50s…lol).

“I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing with you, heh, heh…” That’s my line, and I say it too much, but things that happen to my wife are just plain funny!

She reminds me: “I’m doing better with this than you would. You KNOW that, don’t you?”

I’m contorting in the back seat, so I pretend not to hear her. It’s true, of course.

Compared to other calamities on our strange, companionable journey, this is a piece of cake (to go with her coffee). It won’t ruin our day. It won’t set the tone. It WILL be a story to tell the kids—and YOU.

And we’ll be searching for the perfect sippy cup…

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength. (Proverbs 17:22 NLT)