A Lesson Gone Bad

The other day I was driving through a not great area because the freeway was closed, so I had to go that way to get home. It was raining hard, and there was an older man riding his bike down the street with his groceries tied to the handle bars. Elise asked me, "Mom, why is that man riding a bike?" I thought this question presented a great opportunity to teach her a little lesson about being grateful for what we have, so I said to her, "Some people don't have enough money for cars so they just have to ride bikes everywhere they go, even in the rain. Aren't we lucky to have a car to drive in?" She sat quiet for a minute, and then said in a questioning voice, "So mom, me and Steven don't have enough money for bikes, so we just have to ride in our car everywhere?" Hmmm... I think the point I was trying to make was somehow missed in that little exchange.