Need a Hand?

On the way to school this morning, my son's bike chain came off. There I was, struggling to get it put back on having very little success when a man rode up. He was on his child's bike. I don't know who he was - must have been a neighbor - but I had never met him before. He asked me if I needed a hand. I told him I did, he showed me a little trick to get the chain back on, told me how to tighten the chain and rode off. He must have seen me out of his window and rode to my rescue. It was so kind, so unexpected and so needed.

Riding back home I couldn't help but think of the newspaper article I had read the night before. A homeless immigrant from Guatemala was working construction in New York City. He came across a man and a woman arguing and stepped in to try and help. He was wounded in the process and left, lying on the street. The article said nearby security cameras showed dozens of people simply walking by him. When firefighters finally arrived hours later, the man was dead.

How many of us see someone in need, know that we can help, and do nothing? I wonder what our world would become if we could be like the man I met this morning. We would see someone struggling, get on our bikes, ride across the street and ask, "Do you need a hand?"

Mother Moment

Today was the Awards Assembly at my son's elementary school. The parents are invited to come to a little assembly at the end of each quarter where they honor students for grades, reading, writing etc. It's one of those times when you sit quietly for an hour waiting for your own child's ten seconds up on the stage so they can see you smile and applaud.

As the hour wore on, I clapped and clapped for other children, waiting for my son's turn. When his name was called for perfect attendance, my heart fell. I knew that he had missed four days early on in the quarter from an illness. They were handing out certificates for a free kid's meal to one of my son's favorite restaurants. He walked slowly up to the stage, reluctantly took the certificate from the principal and looked out at me in the audience. I knew that he knew he didn't deserve the award. As the parents and students applauded, my son turned back to the principal. In front of all of his peers, he told the principal that he hadn't earned the award. He wanted to give it back.

I would rather have been sitting in that assembly for that moment than to see him get any other award. He had been honest, in front of all of his peers, in a setting that must not have been easy for him. It was more important for him to live consistently with the values we have tried to instill in him than it was for him to eat at his favorite restaurant.

I got a little weepy and wished I had taken a picture. More than I want my children to be intelligent or successful or well liked, I want them to be good. It was one of those unexpected moments when the past nine years of full time mothering this boy suddenly seemed worth all the sacrifice.

Never give up teaching your children. You never know when they might surprise you.