The kindness of strangers

I am rarely embarrassed by my children, they aren’t always angels but I figure most people realise that their behaviour is age appropriate and there is no point my getting hung up about it. I am far more likely to feel embarrassed about loosing my temper at their perfectly “normal” behavior.

I am also far more likely to embarrass myself. As I did this morning – when I ran out of petrol on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. About 2m through the toll booth. We have had a crazy few days, it had been a crazy morning, I had so much to get done before naptime and as I sat there with my hazard lights on, feeling utterly mortified, I started counting the ways this was going to screw up my day. But you know what. It didn’t screw up my day at all, it barely even dented it. I think I was there 10 minutes at the most before an RTA tow truck arrived to get me “Off their road” and the two guys they sent out could not have been kinder or more laid back.

Apparently they tow about 40 people a day off the bridge, around half of them out of petrol, which was comforting in an odd sort of way.

Quarter of an hour later they had delivered me to a petrol station in Woolloomooloo and helped me fill the tank before I took their photo and they went on their way. I drove off feeling happier about the world than I had all day (and though I was a bit frazzled I wasn’t feeling too bad before all this started). It’s amazing what a boost it can give you to have a complete stranger be so friendly and helpful (even if it is their job to be helpful, people so often aren’t ).

They were efficient, they were understanding, they were kind – and most surprisingly of all they were free!