Today is my daughters’ birthday.  I can hardly believe that they are two years old. Happy Birthday babies! With all of the happiness that today brought into our home, it was overshadowed by a moment of pain.  OK, it should not have been that painful, but things kept getting worse.  To my husband, “Babe, I am sorry.”  To my girls, “Mom will make up this day and celebrate it with you.”I don’t know if you will be able to relate or not, but today just wasn’t how I envisioned it would be. This morning,  I asked my husband if I could drive his car today, his favorite car.  It is the car he only drives for special occasions. He was hesitant, but agreed if I promised to be extra careful.  Of course, I did.  All was going great until we were returning home.  About 5 minutes from our house, I turned the corner and one tire went off the side of the road.  Hmmm…I immediately corrected my error, but the damage was already done. The front right tire went flat.  No big deal, it’s just a tire, but things got worse, fast.

I pulled into the adjacent neighborhood and sighed. My sister was in the car with me and said,” Don’t worry, I will change it.” She has changed many tires in the past, so I agreed to let her help. For the record, I had a gut feeling that I should just wait for my husband to get home because he was already off of work.  At first, she had problems unscrewing the tires. Then she did not jack up his car correctly and now there is a dent in his car from the jack.  As a result, I had to call him in order to get the car’s tire changed and the jack removed. He was upset (I could hear a quiver in his voice); even though he always remains calm.

What bothered me about the entire ordeal, was not the car or the dent, but the people’s reactions around us.  I mentioned that I pulled into a neighborhood less than 5 minutes from my house and people just watched from their driveways and windows, but no one offered to help.  They watched keenly, but all through utter silence.  I was stunned and angry inside.  When I was the most livid at their reactions and I needed to take 10 (count backwards, breathe deeply and relax) a family came home.  After 5 or 10 minutes the husband came out and asked if I needed some assistance. I agreed and was very thankful that someone cared enough to be neighborly. Thank God for his selfless help. Is this a problem everywhere or are people just cold in the community that I live in?

When my husband saw the dent from the jack  I saw the pain and disappointment on his face. He continued to remain calm and quiet, but it was almost like I could read his mind.  “You are never driving my car again!!!!” I felt crushed.

So close to home, only one little problem, and now this. I am humbled and saddened. “Honey I have learned from my mistake.  Look at the bright side, we are all safe, and things could have ended a lot worse.  Thanks for your forgiveness.”

If only I could have those moments before the flat back.