When the tough want to get going, tough sh*t happens. Murphy’s law? Conspiracy? Or just life? Minor disasters (that could stop your trip and ruin your day) come in many forms. Here are the latest three that impart reminders to take nothing for granted, especially a big trip prep…

• Strike 1…Weather woes. 3+” of rain fell last night, and a few more today. So bring on: Clogged gutters; wet basements; muddy messes; thunder all night that makes the 9-year-old wake everyone up; delayed soccer and baseball games with indeterminate reskeds.  The drought is over! Long live the flood!

• Strike 2… Work loads. The good news is this self-employed household has left the recessionary, debt-laden last three years behind, and income flows (though not floods) again. The bad news? Work = stress, responsibility, and travel that, this week, makes me a solo dad for 2 too-busy kids.  Help! Alice?

• Strike 3…Injury happens. My all-star son got hit with a baseball in the scaphoid (wristbone) two days ago. After pain, ice, and angst, the x-ray revealed only a bad bone bruise—in a place where a fracture often requires surgery. Lucky break, no break! But lady luck first was not fair, not nice, and threatened to blow the entire game plan.

The busy-ness of contemporary survival keeps most of us juggling glass balls too much of the time.  But rarely does it feel as fragile as when you just want to exit with style, grace and a passport.