Yes, I know, hecticity isn't really a word. I made it up.
Sometimes our lives seem to spin around us at such a rate that we don't bother to reflect on things that happen on a daily basis. I'm certainly guilty of this. There are many days I crawl in bed at night and wonder what exactly happened from the time I got up until then. Today, my pace has slowed slightly.
My van got stuck this morning.
In the usual rush to leave the lake after a very wet morning of rowing, my tires spun and clung onto nothing but mud. No traction, a ticking clock and a line of cars behind me. Lucky for me, there was no time to panic. Instantly, two voices asked, "Do you need help?" Before I knew it, two rowers, high school boys my son's age, and my oldest son, were behind my van pushing. They had it out in a blink. I yelled, "Thank you" and went on my way.
Don't think I'm callous. I know who they were and I'll see them tomorrow. All the way home, I plotted ways to thank them. My favourite, a Tim Horton's gift card. What teenager doesn't love Timmies? That's what I will give them tomorrow.
But the story doesn't end there.
I went home, caught up a few chores then went to run a few errands. I grabbed a shopping cart in Walmart - which ended up being the only dry cart in easy access - and turned to see a young mom with a toddler. She was the one who remarked about the carts being wet. I gave her mine. Okay, not a life shattering choice, but it made her shopping trip easier than having a grumpy, wet toddler.
And it made us both smile.
Sometimes taking notice of life around you, means making someone else's day brighter.
It can also make for some great story ideas and make you feel a little better about yourself.
Sometimes our lives seem to spin around us at such a rate that we don't bother to reflect on things that happen on a daily basis. I'm certainly guilty of this. There are many days I crawl in bed at night and wonder what exactly happened from the time I got up until then. Today, my pace has slowed slightly.
My van got stuck this morning.
In the usual rush to leave the lake after a very wet morning of rowing, my tires spun and clung onto nothing but mud. No traction, a ticking clock and a line of cars behind me. Lucky for me, there was no time to panic. Instantly, two voices asked, "Do you need help?" Before I knew it, two rowers, high school boys my son's age, and my oldest son, were behind my van pushing. They had it out in a blink. I yelled, "Thank you" and went on my way.
Don't think I'm callous. I know who they were and I'll see them tomorrow. All the way home, I plotted ways to thank them. My favourite, a Tim Horton's gift card. What teenager doesn't love Timmies? That's what I will give them tomorrow.
But the story doesn't end there.
I went home, caught up a few chores then went to run a few errands. I grabbed a shopping cart in Walmart - which ended up being the only dry cart in easy access - and turned to see a young mom with a toddler. She was the one who remarked about the carts being wet. I gave her mine. Okay, not a life shattering choice, but it made her shopping trip easier than having a grumpy, wet toddler.
And it made us both smile.
Sometimes taking notice of life around you, means making someone else's day brighter.
It can also make for some great story ideas and make you feel a little better about yourself.
2 comments:
Hecticity .... that's a great word. I couldn't have made up a better word myself, Diane. :-)
I've been using 'hecticity' for years, 'cause to me it avoids the stodginess of 'hecticness'. I googled 'why isn't hecticity a word?' and found out a lot of people feel the same way. If we keep this idea out there, maybe one of these days it will be admitted into the dictionary.
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