The kindness of strangers: on a stressful day, I reversed into another mum’s car – and she told me not to worry
Share:
Perhaps she could hear a child’s shrieks over the blasting Baby Shark, but in that moment she chose mercy. Last year, on a hot afternoon just before Christmas, I was picking my daughter up from childcare. That in itself is usually a pretty stressful situation. But on this day my seasonal anxiety was compounded by a toddler’s sleep regression and a family fight that, after decades of simmering tension, was at last boiling over.
Out of respect for involved parties – and fear of setting off round two – I’ll skip the details. But for the sake of this story all you need to know is that I was trying to back out of a very busy car park while a child screamed and I wondered if the people I loved most in the world would ever speak to each other again. Somewhere in that fugue of emotional and auditory anguish I backed right into another mum’s car.
Reversing into another mid-priced 4WD is never a good feeling. But it’s made worse by occurring in a childcare car park – a space that (understandably) takes responsible driving very seriously. As soon as I felt the screeching grind of two “Baby on Board” bumper stickers colliding I knew I was screwed. I was about to get berated by another fried parent, on a 30C day, in front of a bunch of preschoolers.
Leaning out the window, already in tears, I instinctively prepared to beg. But as I internally debated whether my whole life story would induce mercy or anger I was stopped by an expression of sympathy, not rage. I don’t know what I looked like to that woman. Or if she could hear the shrieks over the blasting Baby Shark, but in that moment she chose kindness.
Share:
More for You
Top Followed
Trending
You Might Also Like
