This morning was a PD Day. There was no school for Olivia. Missing the deadline for the local camp, we had to drive her to the city to go to the fun camp at TWoS. That means getting up early and driving for thirty minutes longer than we would have, had I not forgotten to enroll her in the PD Day camp that’s only five minutes away from our house – and the same place where Violet goes to preschool.
(Lesson learned, register early next time)
Amazingly, we sorted out lunches, got up early, got everyone dressed – and were all ready to go before eight o’clock. As always, it didn’t matter, we were still running behind.
Already five minutes late for preschool, I realized I had forgotten the stroller. Strapping Stella into the baby carrier, and encouraging Violet to quickly eat the half a slice of toast she brought along with her, we forgot her backpack in the truck, as we rushed into the building.
We were right behind another Mom, who like us was running late.
Another Mom, who when she heard we had left the backpack in the car and me hurrying Violet along because we were late too, offered to take Violet into the preschool activity room – even though her own kids were going to the camp in the other space.
No question about it, she just immediately, brought along Violet to the preschool area with her own kids, while Stella and I ran back to the car and grabbed the backpack, meeting them in the activity room area.
I heard her introduce herself, ask Violet her name, and go along to the class, as I rushed off to grab her pack with her lunch, indoor shoes, extra cookies and the treasures you collect when you’re five years old.
It made me wonder.
If that happened, would I as quickly offer to take another kid to the preschool area? Would I keep going and let the Mom run back to the car with the kid? I blindly sent my kid off with this woman who offered up her help, and was so thankful that I had a second to the grab the backpack and Violet wasn’t as late. Would I have offered up the same option to a mom running late behind me at Millennium Place.
We’ve got our close village, our tribe – but often times we aren’t as concerned with the moms who are doing their thing, around us, just outside of their village. Those are the moms that can be invisible when we’re in the thick of being late – the moms we might forget to offer a hand to, the moms that I’ve forgotten to offer a hand to.