Preschool Prosperity

When DramaBoy piped Mommy, what's that spider in my car? I had to throttle down a yelp. I frantically slewed my eyes around the interior of the Vue, searching for the malignant arachnid.

I know that spiders are our friends and keep down the pest population yada yada yada, but I cannot rid myself of a visceral fear of the many-legged beings. I can't help but believe, when I see a spider, that it may choose to leap onto my face and ravage me, perhaps burrowing into my brain and laying its loathsome eggs there, to erupt forth like some scene from...

OK. Maybe I need to ease up on the imagination a bit there.

Anywho, DramaBoy finally pointed out what he was referring to, which turned out to be the little crack in the windshield that has been there since two weeks after I bought the car. A truck travelling in front of me spit up a rock, which chipped the glass and sent a few small cracks spidering out. It is no more than a centimeter in diameter and has miraculously NOT widened into a major problem. I can see how DramaBoy could think it was a spider.

That's not a spider, I explained. It's a chip in the windshield.

He was silent a moment. But why is there a chip there? he finally asked.

It was from a rock, I replied. It hit the windshield and left a chip there. There are a few cracks too, so it looks a little bit like a spider.

But it's not a chip! he protested. We can't eat it!

I understood suddenly why he was confused. No, it's a little broken piece, I said. We call that a chip sometimes. It's not a spider, though. It's just a little bit broken.

I will fix it! he proclaimed.

How are you going to do that? I asked.

I will pay for it, he replied.

And where will you get the money?

At the store. My friend Annie will give me money. She is at the store, and she gives me money.

How much money will she give you?

Five. This many! He held up a hand, fingers splayed.

And will five be enough? I asked, wondering what five meant to him. Five dimes? Five dollars? Five hundred dollars?

No. But I will get more, he reassured me. I can go back to the store.

If any of you come across such a miraculous money store, let me know. I could use a visit or two myself.