Tired of being at home and working on my computer, I decided earlier today to take a break. I often find walking excuses to take breaks: walk to Mt Tabor, walk to the store, walk to the high point of our neighborhood to see the sunset. (It’s so rad to be in such a walkable neighborhood.) Today, I walked to the library to drop off a book, and on my way home took the long way to make some phone calls while I strolled.
As I walked past a cute elementary school, a woman interrupted me super sheepishly. “Uh, sorry to stop you,” she said, embarrassed and very aware that I was having a conversation already. “I have a really weird question for you.”
Having asked many weird questions of complete strangers myself, I love getting them from others. You know the questions prefaced that way are going to be the best ones.
(this hyacinth has nothing to do with this story whatsoever except that I’d just taken a picture of in during the same walk, and it also makes me happy;)
This woman was probably my age, standing next to her open car with a very small child swaddled to her chest in some complicated baby-swaddling contraption (don’t ask me how these things work;) She gestured to the sign on the sidewalk: one hour parking. “I’m parked in a one hour spot, but I need to be here for a while longer. It’s going to take me forever to take my son off, put him in his car seat, drive to a new spot, and then put him back on — do you mind just driving my car around the corner to that spot for me?”
She motioned to an open parking spot just around the corner.
“Uh, let me call you back in like 2 minutes,” I said into my phone, hanging up. And the woman gave me her car keys.
“What happens if I just take off with your car?” I asked her, smiling.
“Well, you look honest,” she said. “I’ll meet you right over there.”
So I got in her car, drove it around the corner, and parked it in a new spot for her. When I gave her back her keys, she thanked me profusely. “You just saved me like 20 minutes,” she said. (Kids are hard!!)
And now that I’ve been home for a few hours, I’m still all smiley about this. Awww. What a sweet world, when someone will trust you to drive their car to a new parking spot for them. Or, maybe, to what depths of logistical hassle and creative problem-solving you’re driven when you have children. heh. Either way;)
Ha! — I’m afraid it’s the latter of your 2 choices — although the former choice probably had something to do with it, too. (You do look honest.) :-)
heh. Yeah, I thought it might be. But still! It’s still super sweet! :)
Only you can pull this off: A car episode on Carfree Rambles. Made me smile, because the dilemma still sounds familiar, even though my daughter turned 16 today. Time flies, but it takes little ditty like that to rekindle fond memories.
Heh, yeah the irony of a car-ful post was definitely not lost on me;) Happy birthday to your little ‘un!! :) Did you get her keys to a big fancy bike for her 16th birthday??;)