Friday, November 2, 2012

Pump It Up.


Day 297
The crisp fall day feels like a gift after the freezing rain and cold temperatures swept in by Hurricane Sandy.  F. asks to ride his bike to school and I agree.  I know his bike-riding-days are limited with winter around the corner.  I remind him to be careful and wave him on his way.  

Chaz calls my cell on his way to work to report that he saw F. rolling his bike up Zig Zag.  “Completely flat,” he reports.  “I told him to take the bus home.” 

I have another idea.  I stop at Walgreens and buy a bike pump on the way to school and a scheduled PTO meeting where I prop the bike pump on the table.  “I don’t want to forget,” I say.  A table full of busy moms multi-tasking understand. 

After the meeting, I circle the school to the bike racks where F.’s orange mountain bike lists against the metal stand.  I squeeze the back tire.  So little air remains that my fingers nearly touch.  I attach the nozzle and start to pump until the tire firms. 

A half-dozen bikes keep F’s company.  I move down the line, checking each tire and adding air if it needs it.  

I smile and sneak away.  That was fun.      

12 comments:

  1. Sweet, sweet story. These are momments the kids remember, if they notice!

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  2. At least, I'll remember. Thanks for visiting!

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  3. This is such a perfect random act of kindness! Made me smile.

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    1. It's tops my list as a favorite so far! Thanks for visiting!

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  4. Love this, best thing I've read today! That must have been fun :)

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  5. That's such a sweet thing you did for your son and the other bike riders. I bet one day he'll appreciate that you did that.

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    1. If he notices! We're just trying to teach them to pay it forward. That's the lesson that I hope stays with them after our year of kindness. They're already asking what we're doing next year.

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  6. I LOVE the sneakiness of this! I would have been tempted to hide around the corner to see his face when he got to his bike and it was all ready to rock n roll :)

    Sarah @ A Cat-Like Curiosity

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    1. Sneaky is fun! We boo-ed some neighbors in October and polished up our sneaky.

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  7. That was such a sweet story. You son will one day realize what an incredible woman he has the privilege of calling "mom". Taking care of others can be so rewarding. Yesterday I volunteered to help Sandy victims and as hard as the manual labor was at times, it was worth every minute. A Saturday well spent! Stopping by from SITS.

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    1. Thanks for visiting! I love the Saturday Share on SITS. So fun to visit and read everyone's highlights from the week!

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