Thursday, January 30, 2014

Acts of Kindness

So today was my day off, which I could not be happier for. This week so far has been both emotionally and physically draining and I have felt completely exhausted. So I was so happy when my mom told me the neighbors were all going out to lunch. A little background here, the "housewives" on the street like to call themselves the Blacksmith Babes after the street we live on or the Blacksmith Bitches to be more accurate. They really do need their own TV series. Every so often they ever so graciously invite their lovely daughters, the Babes in Training or Little Bitches, to tag along to their weekly outings. So the Babes and Babettes made it through the slight snow storm we were having to Panera. We were there for over two hours laughing about strip clubs, getting drunk in Vegas, grooming the lady garden, tattoos & weird piercings, and our crazy families. I laughed the entire time and felt so good to be a positive, happy mood.

We had to leave because I had a dentist appointment, which I had already rescheduled multiple times. I hate the dentist, but who really does like it? It had stopped snowing, but the roads were still a little bit slippery. My mom was driving my car home, blabbing away. Why I let her drive I may forever question. We hit a slippery patch and began to slide. Instead of letting off the gas a little and slightly correcting, my mom did the complete opposite. If you are not from a place that is so blessed to receive a shit ton of snow each year, consider yourself blessed and lucky you have no idea what a fish tail (not the braid) is. So let's all picture this. We are beginning to slide, my mom with her foot still planted ever so nicely and stupidity on the gas petal cranks the steering wheel all the way to the left. Next thing I know we are heading straight for the median. I grab my arm rests in terror and scream for my life. I'm sure this did not helped matters, but I'm not good in these situations. So my mom, again still with her foot on the gas petal tries to prevent this and cranks the steering wheel to the right. Everyone who has ever driven in the snow knows this is the worst thing you can do. So now the back of the car is coming around to the front and we are headed straight for the curb. I scream "STOP!" meaning stop turning the gosh damn steering wheel, my on the other had decided this means hit the breaks. Again, worst move to do in the snow. We spin straight up onto the curb, stuck!

My first thought, "well, I'm not making it to the dentist today." and second thought, "wow everyone must think we are fucking idiots!". My mom looks over at me, "your gonna have to push us out". Um was she kidding?! Do I look like the hulk? & I'm pretty sure I'm dressed to go out for lunch, not enter in the Alaskan strong man contest. Then like a shimmer of hope I see a car pull ahead of us and stop. A young man comes walking out. Like the patron saint of dumb ass drivers he pushes us out to safety. I felt like handing him the $5 I had in my wallet, but kind of felt like that would be stupid. Instead, we thanked him 100x before he hopped back into his car and left.

Wishing I could have thanked him more for his act of kindness, I thought about the movie Pay it Forward. As much as I wanted to thank this man, these small acts of kindness should not be rare occasions. When someone holds the door, we shouldn't be overly surprise, but I am and thank them according. We need to do small things for people everyday, and worry less about paying people back for their help, rather pay it forward. Has anyone ever had someone ahead of them in line pay for your coffee or maybe your toll? I would love to do that for someone, just to make their day. Shouldn't we all do small things for strangers, just because we are human[kind]. Let me know your thoughts. What have you done today to brighten someone's day?

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