Kindness

Today Ben had a tantrum as we were leaving the library. He wanted to read his new book (No More Diapers for Ducky) at the library instead of taking it with us, but I was in a hurry to get to ballet class. I dragged him out sobbing, strapped him into the car, and tried to talk him down as I pulled out. And then--bang! I slammed on the brakes and realized in my distraction I'd hit another white Subaru Outback.

Now, I'd been in a fender bender 2 months ago that had ended up causing over $2000 of damage. I had shelled out our deductible, and I knew our insurance rates would be going up. I had been oh-so-careful lately about backing out of our driveway. I couldn't believe I'd done it again. I very briefly considered driving away, but I didn't see how I could do that.

When I inspected the other car, it had only a few scratches on the bumper. That's the advantage to hitting an identical car, I suppose--the bumpers are perfectly aligned. Our bumper had lost some ribbons of paint. With shaking hands, I scrawled out a note with my phone number. Ben, who had fallen silent, asked what had happened. When I told him, he announced, "I want to give that car a hug."

All through my ballet class, I worried about insurance rates and repair bills. When I got home, though, there was a kind message on my answering machine. An older-sounding woman said not to worry about the scratches--she said there were few enough honest people left in the world and she appreciated my note. She didn't leave her number.

When I heard that, I burst into tears of relief. A concerned Ben came up to me, put his hand on my arm, and said--in a decent imitation of Tom--"What's wrong, sweetie? It's okay, sweetie!" I was touched to realize he had learned from his father how to comfort someone who is upset.

Now we're off to buy touch-up paint on a rainy afternoon. I wish the owner of the other car had left her phone number so we could get her some too.