Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Good Samaritan

Mistakes.  Accidents.  Catastrophes.  


Plain Stupidities happen when your brain is in the clouds and you aren't paying attention.  


The rush of life.  


I'm guilty of getting caught up in it.    


Running late {Story. Of. My. Life.}


Taking on more than I can handle. 


Daydreaming while driving and not paying attention to the road.  


It left me stranded after my car jumped the curb and blew a tire a few weeks ago.
It wasn't the tire that worried me.  Not even the fact that I was extremely late on a day that couldn't spare a minute, in order to accomplish all the tasks on my list.


My concern was that I had just driven around a bend in the road (out of view to the approaching cars).  


A concern that there wasn't a shoulder for me to safely pull my car off the road, and that this road was notorious for people speeding around this particular corner.  I knew, because I was guilty of being one of those people.


But, my biggest concern was for the safety of my 11 month old Son Sam, who happened to be traveling with me.  


I know... Shame on me for not keeping my attention on the road in the first place!
I pulled Sam out of his car seat and moved away from the car, behind a median, and waited.  

And watched cars drive by.

With people who either looked at me and saw me on my cell phone holding a baby, or people who didn't even notice I was there.  Stranded.  

People, caught up in the rush of life.

And I wondered.

What is wrong with us?

But it was obvious. I wasn't the only one caught up in the busyness of life.
Luckily my Husband was on his way to rescue us and thankfully he wasn't far, because I was quickly starting to lose faith in humanity. 

I know.  I'm so dramatic, right?!  But did I mention I was holding a baby on the side of the road, stranded?
Just then, I saw break lights.  A car reversed and a man jumped out to see if we were okay.

I thanked him, and told him my Husband would arrive within 10 minutes.

He jumped back in his car and was off.
The car reversed back down the hill and the man jumped out and began directing traffic around my car.  


He yelled up the hill "I will stay here until your Husband arrives.   That way if anyone gets hit, it will be me and not you and the baby".


Okay, seriously?  Did I really say I was losing faith in humanity?


Shame on me.
And he did just that.  


Stood at the bottom of the hill (in front of oncoming traffic), putting himself at risk so that my car, my baby, and I were safe.
When I asked him his name (so that I could properly thank him later with a card and perhaps some baked goods) he shrugged his shoulders and said "Don't worry about it.  I'm just a retired Grandfather"


Secretly, I think he may have  been worried we would send him some of These Cookies

Either way, I am grateful for having been reminded that there are great people in the world, willing to put others before themselves. 
Grateful for being reminded how quickly things can happen when you get caught up in the rush of life.


So, if even just for this moment... Slow Down & Celebrate Life.  


I think I may just do the same.

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

The Kitchen Reno

After what felt like the longest renovation in the history of renovations, my kitchen has finally reached a point where I feel like it is nearly completed.  



Of course, there are always little things that need to be done such as replacing the fridge for a stainless one, properly wiring the television, finishing the lighting and the trim... but, considering what we have gone through, these seem like minor touches.  


We were very fortunate through the whole process, as the majority of the renovations were done by family members.  Our main contractor was my Cousin, and our Kitchen cupboards were custom built by my very talented Aunt and Uncle.

There are many things that I love about my new kitchen, and a few months ago, I posted one of my favourites Here.

So, here you have it... The Before and After photos.

Before
(This was the kitchen before we moved in)
During
 An example of the chaos we lived in.
 Yes, I did take a photo with a box of diapers smack in the middle.  And if you look really close, you can see a half-dead aloe plant near the back wall.
 Walls and cupboards came down.  Tile and carpets came up.
After

Eventually, we will replace the fridge (I keep repeating this with hopes that my Husband is reading)
Our newest addition is this custom built hall closet (on the left).
Another view of the closet.
Lighting and trim will need to be finished, and the T.V. will need to be properly wired... (Again, fingers crossed my Husband is reading).
And perhaps a nicer garage door (Just sayin').
Thanks for stopping by!
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...