I’ve been griping about our Honda Odyssey minivan lately: the lousy transmissions, the poor gas mileage, and the difficulty parking it, among others. I’ve been suggesting to Kelly that we could get by with something smaller and more environmentally friendly but she’s reluctant to part with it. She says we need it for trips but I contend we can rent a minivan for trips if we need one. I challenged her to drive it for a month and see if she still felt that way and Kelly took me up on it.

Yesterday the minivan’s value proved itself in an unexpected way when I got to play hero. On the way home from the kids’ pool party, Travis and I drove past my local bus stop. Standing there by the side of the road was a couple and five elementary school age kids. Clouds were gathering, thunder rumbled in the distance, and the first few drops of rain were beginning to fall. The father desperately waved at me as I drove by, trying to get a ride. I couldn’t stop for him then because I was driving our smaller Honda CR-V and only had one empty seat to share.

I quickly dropped Travis off at home, hopped into the Odyssey, and returned to pick up the stranded family. Two kids had to share one bucket seat but everyone got safely delivered to the local motel where they were staying! I was glad I could help and glad we still had a vehicle that was big enough to come through for some strangers in a pinch.