Conversations in the Car

One of the biggest adjustments to moving to the suburbs has been spending a large amount of time in the car.  I miss being able to walk everywhere, or when driving was needed, the destination was only 5 minutes away.  I spend a minimum of 1.5 hours a day in the car compared to maybe 1.5 hrs every two weeks.  Craziness.  The one upside to all this driving in the car is the conversations I have in the car with the kids.

In the past week alone our topics of conversation have included World War II, racism, antisemitism, origins of the universe, what it means to be "born sick" (sparked by Hozier's Take Me to Church), priestly celibacy, and why people are homeless.  My morning commute to school has become a series of mental exercises.  I love that my kids are deep thinkers.  The tricky part is coming up with satisfactory answers that are both accurate but not too overwhelming or complicated.  Some days I am more successful than others.

This morning our conversation somehow turned to the gospel writers after Eileen asked who St. Luke was.  I was able to answer he was the patron saint of dentists.  This was not enough information for the young minds riding in back.  After a bumpy start, I explained that the gospel writers recorded the life of Jesus for different groups of people.  This of course made no sense to the 4 year old and 6 year old.  Linus called me out and asked if that meant that they just made stuff up.  Shoot.  I had to think fast.  I then called upon Harry Potter to rescue me.  I told Linus that writing the gospels was like if he and I were trying to tell people about why they should love Harry Potter.  He and I would probably tell them different parts of the same story that we thought were most important for someone to hear.  Even if we did not say the same thing, we would still be telling the truth.  Harry Potter for the win!  Fr. Brad, our parish priest and lover of all things pop culture, would be proud.

Sometimes I wish I did not have to spend so much of my day driving back and forth, or that I could just get lost in my own thoughts while driving, or just listen to music of my own choosing.  But when I think about the quality of some of our conversations, I am grateful for these moments.  I hope my kids continue to talk to me and I am able to use these times to help craft their world view, making them more compassionate and informed people.

As I pulled into the school parking lot, Linus saw a sign for the Give BIG campaign.  I quickly explained what it was.  He told me that if it was up to him, he would give money to Children's Hospital because they help Robin.  Done.  I think I am on the right track with that kid.