Can today's kids survive life's blows?

I wonder about whether or not today's kids can take life's blows? Or have they been so insulated and protected that when consequence hit - little things collectively can become tsunamis.

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For example, it begins simply enough with our son's car problems. In this case it's a water pump that's going out. Of course - it goes out on a Friday and the soonest the repairs can begin is Monday. So he begins a weekend w/o wheels and since his phone charger's at his brand new residence - IN SAN JOSE = AN HOUR AWAY - he now has no life as well cuz he has no cell battery left & his friends don't know any other # for him. Bummer. He says "I feel like such a loser." And here i thought we were going to have some old-fashioned quality mom & son bonding time.

Oh well - - no worries - mom's place is available to camp out over the weekend & thank God Bella, my son's dog's the greatest and best behaved dog in the world cuz she's 90 lbs and mom's place is a little 3 bdrm townhome w/o a backyard. You can see pictures of Bella on my Facebook page - she's the cute 90# mastiff/pitt bull/shepherd mix looking out of Stacey's rearview mirror.

Ok, so our son manages to get thru the weekend & bright and early this morning, he manages to drive his injured car to the 2nd repair facility on his list - the first one wanting waaay more $ than he has and they promise him he'll have his car by 4pm today. Ahhh, he can practically taste his freedom and independence returning!

However, it's not long before things begin to go awry. The repair facility calls and says the price just went up $200+ to cover the cost of a new water pump @ their cost. Oops, a little misunderstanding - our son thought they were going to use his old one. (((???)))

Next, the same repair place that quoted him such a fair price - altho' he can't really afford even this - now calls and says it's not only a water pump, but blah, blah, blah ....and it's going to cost closer to $1500...a sum that might as well be $15,000 for all the money he doesn't have.

But - wait - that's not it. In the mail comes a photo-ticket for running a red light!!! Oh yes! And from what i hear that's going to set him back about $475.00 if he doesn't go to court to get it reduced.

OMG. Poor kiddo - his response to all of this - I think i'll go lie down and maybe all of this will just go away. Of course it doesn't and with a little help from his sister - like driving him all the way to San Jose to get some basic necessities - it looks like he's going to be spending more time than originally anticipated at mom's.

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So, i ask again, can today's kids survive life's blows given the economy and downsizing and reduced hours and, and, and.....??? Were things really all that much different when i was growing up?

I guess i had to figure things out for myself b/c there was no magic answer or anyone i knew that had it better than me that was willing to bail me out. So...i learned to suck it up and be a good little narcissistic co-dependent until that too failed me. Then it was therapy for the next 2 decades healing from those choices.

Do I owe it to our son to help him out? Is it about money or enabling or even about love???

This is where it gets sticky. Luckily i've had enough 'help' to not DO anything. Somehow, somewhere though i'm going to have to figure out what i'm willing to do and what i'm not. That's the sticky part.

Welcome to my first entry in my new blog. I welcome your feedback, thoughts, experiences, suggestions, or as we say in recovery "Experience, Strength & Hope."

Stay tuned!