2017 is here, and it's going to be a wondrous and magical year.

On Jan. 2, my kids had the day off school. Great! I planned a morning of fun because 2017 is going to be wondrous and magical! And what better way to start the year than with a magic show?

I piled my tiny people into the car and drove out of the neighborhood toward the library, our first stop of many mini pre-nap adventures.

Huh. Why are all those lights on my dashboard lighting up? No matter; 2017 is going to be a wondrous and magical year! Let's keep driving!

I was singing "Wheels on the Bus" with my son, when he abruptly ended our adorable duet. "Mama! It's too hard to sing over that beeping noise." I had to admit, the high-pitched tone was slightly teeth-shattering. But which of the many dashboard lights could the incessant beeping be related to? The check engine light? The check oil light? Perhaps one of the many orange and blue flashing icons that sure look cute but leave me baffled as to what they represent? Oh, there it is! The gas tank is empty. No worries. That's one problem I know how to fix. 2017 is going to be a wondrous and magical year!

Only there was reason to worry. I keep forgetting, I live in the wild. I spent my whole life within walking distance of supermarkets, restaurants, coffee shops and, most certainly, gas stations. Having to think about fueling up anytime I'm "in town" is new to me. And there we were, on back roads I had never been on — nary a gas station in sight. That's OK. That's why we have smartphones.

No service.

Uhh. That's OK. We'll drive until we find service. Let's hope it will be in the direction of a gas station.

"Mama. The baby just threw up all over herself."

Of course she did. Well, that's ... stinky. But good news: I found service, and the closest gas station is 5.6 miles away. On country roads — where, if we break down, no one will drive past and see us. And I may not have cell service. Righto. Onward.

We pulled in to the gas station just in time. I opened the diaper bag to find a replacement outfit for my daughter — a tank top onesie. Clearly, I had not updated the diaper bag arsenal since the scalding heat of summer. This would not do on Jan. 2. Luckily, I found a replacement for her sweatshirt, which truly had been the greater victim of the vomit-fest.

The car was gassed up. The beeping stopped. The other lights were on, but no matter! We arrived safely at the library. The magician was a spritely 300-year-old who was clearly telling the same jokes that he had told to Thomas Jefferson when he was just a lad. The kids adored him — until the magician began talking about Christmas and asked one of the dads a question about Santa, to which the dad replied, "Can't answer that, 'cause I don't believe in Santa Claus."

The day took a nosedive. It didn't help that at lunch, the waiter took away my son's half-eaten sandwich before he was done. Or that the ice cream place I'd promised was closed. Or that my daughter threw up on herself again. Or that the car froze up and broke down. Guess those cute dashboard icons really were trying to say something. Luckily, now we were close to town. A saint of a woman pulled over and helped me push the car off the road.

While we waited for professional help to arrive, my son asked, "Why didn't that daddy believe in Santa?"

"I don't know," I said. "Sometimes it's hard for adults to believe in magical things like elves and fairies and Santa. But that's the cool thing about beliefs. You get to believe in anything you want. What magical things do you believe in?"

"I believe in all the magic. I believe in humans and birds and trees and chocolate milk and pigs and mud and babies and water and sky and earth and—"

"But what magical things do you believe in?"

"Mama! All those things are magical!"

Stranded on the side of the road with my two tinies confirmed 2017 is going to be a wondrous and magical year.

My car might have a different opinion.

Katiedid Langrock is author of the book "Stop Farting in the Pyramids," available at http://www.creators.com/books/stop-farting-in-the-pyramids. Like Katiedid Langrock on Facebook, at http://www.facebook.com/katiedidhumor. To find out more about her and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.