Surviving The Autobahn

Last summer my family and I were driving back to my son’s house in Stuttgart, Germany after a trip to France. It was late and we were about fifty miles from the German border and running low on gas. We wanted to fill up in Germany because my son could buy it for $3.00/gallon vs. $8.00 in France.

One thing we didn’t factor into our calculations was a ‘stau’ (German for traffic jam). Crawling along at less than a snail’s pace and now truly almost out of gas, we really needed to get off the freeway, but, mile after mile, there were no exits. Finally, we were able to get off, only to discover there were no gas stations.

We meandered along for twenty plus miles without seeing a single station, knowing that if we didn’t find one soon we would be stuck somewhere in France, sleeping in the van, with a bunch of loud snorers. No one was excited about this prospect.

Just before the last fume was consumed we found a station and filled up. Having come this far off our path, we got onto an alternate freeway, full of hope of smooth sailing, but, alas, we hadn’t driven more than five miles when to our dismay, we were in another ‘stau!’ We pulled into the driveway at 2:00 a.m. We didn’t worry about unloading the car.

As I pondered this experience I was struck with the importance of making good decisions. We knew we needed gas but decided to take a chance. Our reasoning was faulty. We let our pocketbook override our brains.

As parents we need to help our children recognize and understand that we face dangers in the process of living and the decisions we make can have consequences that can impact us today, tomorrow, or years later. We should help them make wise decisions based on a balance of reason and emotion. Helping them develop this resiliency skill will benefit them their entire lives.  As always, the best way to teach it is by example.