The Cost of Kindness

Drew was his usual late self getting out the door for school. My turn to drive carpool, so I suspect he thinks that buys him leeway to dawdle. The parking lot was its usual mix of surface snow and underlying ice, a combination I have learned to conquer by not pulling all the way into the downward sloping parking spots.

I had already brushed off the car, warmed it up, and pulled it even with the steps before Drew managed to stumble out the door. No coat, so predictable. He would way rather freeze than be 'uncool,' silly boy.

As I started to pull out, I noticed that a neighbor on the opposite side of the parking lot was stuck in her space. She spun her wheels to no avail, this single young lady. Somehow it tugged at my heart and I just couldn't leave her stranded. I stopped the car and directed Drew to go push her out of her spot.

While I waited, I checked my phone for voice mail in case someone from the morning's crew was doing a no-show. Nothing. I glanced in the mirror, and to my surprise, realized that the woman had her brakes on while Drew was pushing for all his worth. Somehow the two of them had managed to get that car more stuck than before, and now it was almost sideways in the slot.

Good grief. This would never do. I had to pick up kids. I marched over to where they were, and motioned for her to roll down her window. She must have been scared to death. I barked orders at her. "Pull all the way forward. More. More. MORE! Now straighten out your wheels. On my signal, gun it. Don't worry, you won't hit anything. And for goodness sake, keep your foot off the brake. Ready? GO!"

It took 2 seconds to launch her out of her spot. Of course, I had fallen face down on the ice, and gotten sprayed head to foot with snow from her front tires. I scrambled to brush off the wet stuff, waved her on, jumped in the car and drove like sixty two skiddo to pick up kids. We were definitely late. Definitely. And in spite of that, we waited at the first house until I sent Drew to knock on the door. "Sorry" was the mumbled response.

The next house was the farthest away place, and we pulled into the drive only to discover that the kids had gone with their father, and they had left me a voice mail message that I never got. I pulled into traffic on the expressway, realizing I was smack dab in the middle of rush hour because I was just late enough. It took forever to move beyond incoming traffic to the far side of the city where the outgoing traffic was lighter.

I was tempted to fuss and stew about the lateness, the heavy traffic, the inconvenience of stopping to help someone. But I kept seeing that young lady's face, and thinking that she was merrily on her way to work. Its a good thing to help someone else. I have been so grateful when people helped me out in some way. I have been helped by so many people.

People who gave me aid that cost them time and energy and inconvenience and made all the difference to me. In the end, it only made the boys about five minutes late for school, making them hurry to get to first period class. And a bit of adrenalin as I wove in and out of traffic trying to hurry. No big deal.