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sometimes there truly is a reason
Jun. 14th, 2005 07:58 pmI woke-up late this morning, cursing myself for neglecting to set my alarm. Rushed through most of the morning ritual (although just about any excuse to not have to shave will do), grabbed a jacket and a hat that's not-my-fedora cause it's (surprise!) pouring down rain in torrents, and I'm in the car and gone.
Now I need to mention that the nigh-on three year bridge replacement project on state RT 4 is almost done; they are doing repaving which makes for quite the mess, so lately I've not been going that way, which is the shortest path the the highway. Instead I took the "long way" through town. So, driving down RT 3 from my place to work I go past the high school and then the elementary school. About halfway between, I see a little kid. A little kid walking to school in the pouring rain at 9-freakin'-thirty! And as I get closer I realize that I know this brave, drenched, little kid. She's my Samantha.
Yeah, my daughter walking to school in the rain. I couldn't believe it! So much that the I did a double-take and past her before I slowed down enough to pull off the road into the gravel-and-mud that constitutes a "shoulder" throughout most of this part of the country. I waited for a few cars to pass and got out and called to her. She looked up, smiled, and quickened her pace. I went around the car and opened the door for her.
"Hi Daddy!"
Just like that. Just like it was no big deal whatsoever that I pass her on the road in the midst of the pouring rain an hour after the bus was supposed to deposit her at her school's front door. Just like it was no big deal that I happened to appear to rescue her from the floods and the mud and the wind and drive her the rest of the way to school. I, on the other hand, was quite speechless.
When I got her and me back in the car, I was able to come off autopilot and ask her a few pertinent questions. Yes, she missed the bus. No, Danny was still home. Yes, mom was still sleeping. Oh! and she can't wait to get to school to see the ducks!
Her class was blessed with four baby ducks last week, and she is completely enamoured with them. Oh to be eight years old and to be that motivated by something so delightfully simple and innocent! I have to admire her determination to walk to school in the rain just so she can see "her ducks".
To say that it's disconcerting to see your child walking along the side of a rather busy road in the pouring rain during a time which you least expect is like saying that the Hoover dam is big. And the cause of today's rather serendipitous meeting with my daughter is exactly like the bigness of the aforementioned dam: the true impact lies in what's behind it.
Having had all day to contemplate this, I'm still somewhat at a loss for words. Sure, there's the obvious responses. Not-so-nice voice mail message was left this morning first thing when I got to work for her mom. I need to make sure that at least Sam knows that if she misses the bus and wants to walk to school that under no circumstances is Daniel to come with here (he's only six!) and that if he cannot be dissuaded or her mother woken-up, that she is to stay home. Sam, at least, will get this, I have no doubts. Next is to get one-on-one time with her tomorrow night (I'm still at work as I write, this; one of our HP systems lost a CPU. And a power supply. And after replacements, still won't boot) and help her memorize my phone number. Which, in retrospect, I obviously should have done long ago--shame on me. :-(
Overall, I am now deliriously happy to have woken-up late. Sometimes, things truly do happen for a reason.
Now I need to mention that the nigh-on three year bridge replacement project on state RT 4 is almost done; they are doing repaving which makes for quite the mess, so lately I've not been going that way, which is the shortest path the the highway. Instead I took the "long way" through town. So, driving down RT 3 from my place to work I go past the high school and then the elementary school. About halfway between, I see a little kid. A little kid walking to school in the pouring rain at 9-freakin'-thirty! And as I get closer I realize that I know this brave, drenched, little kid. She's my Samantha.
Yeah, my daughter walking to school in the rain. I couldn't believe it! So much that the I did a double-take and past her before I slowed down enough to pull off the road into the gravel-and-mud that constitutes a "shoulder" throughout most of this part of the country. I waited for a few cars to pass and got out and called to her. She looked up, smiled, and quickened her pace. I went around the car and opened the door for her.
"Hi Daddy!"
Just like that. Just like it was no big deal whatsoever that I pass her on the road in the midst of the pouring rain an hour after the bus was supposed to deposit her at her school's front door. Just like it was no big deal that I happened to appear to rescue her from the floods and the mud and the wind and drive her the rest of the way to school. I, on the other hand, was quite speechless.
When I got her and me back in the car, I was able to come off autopilot and ask her a few pertinent questions. Yes, she missed the bus. No, Danny was still home. Yes, mom was still sleeping. Oh! and she can't wait to get to school to see the ducks!
Her class was blessed with four baby ducks last week, and she is completely enamoured with them. Oh to be eight years old and to be that motivated by something so delightfully simple and innocent! I have to admire her determination to walk to school in the rain just so she can see "her ducks".
To say that it's disconcerting to see your child walking along the side of a rather busy road in the pouring rain during a time which you least expect is like saying that the Hoover dam is big. And the cause of today's rather serendipitous meeting with my daughter is exactly like the bigness of the aforementioned dam: the true impact lies in what's behind it.
Having had all day to contemplate this, I'm still somewhat at a loss for words. Sure, there's the obvious responses. Not-so-nice voice mail message was left this morning first thing when I got to work for her mom. I need to make sure that at least Sam knows that if she misses the bus and wants to walk to school that under no circumstances is Daniel to come with here (he's only six!) and that if he cannot be dissuaded or her mother woken-up, that she is to stay home. Sam, at least, will get this, I have no doubts. Next is to get one-on-one time with her tomorrow night (I'm still at work as I write, this; one of our HP systems lost a CPU. And a power supply. And after replacements, still won't boot) and help her memorize my phone number. Which, in retrospect, I obviously should have done long ago--shame on me. :-(
Overall, I am now deliriously happy to have woken-up late. Sometimes, things truly do happen for a reason.
