Sometimes People are Just Nice

Last Sunday, with my kids in the car, I ran out of gas. I used to run out of gas a lot when I was younger, something about wanting the universe to conform to my needs of buying more cigarettes and not gas, and trying to will my car to continue running on nothing.

It's been a good 10 years I would say, since I ran out of gas. I was on my way to the grocery store to overbuy snacks and things for my kids because we had a new babysitter coming on Monday (and it totally makes me nervous, so I want to make things super easy so the newbie never wants to kill himself throughout the day) and to get money out of the ATM. Luckily I decided to drive up 7th Street instead of getting immediately on the highway. I knew we were relatively low on fuel, but the little orange light had yet to come on, so I thought we were safe, at least until after I had gotten a coffee.

Well, now I know the little orange light is broken.

 We managed to coast to a stop halfway into an empty parking lot. I then managed to push the car by myself all the way into the parking lot, but it was still sitting in the middle of the lane, and no amount of coaxing (or cursing) could get it to move one more inch.

Stinko was screaming his head off, and up stepped my first angel of the day, out on a Sunday morning walking his boxer with his girlfriend, he took a minute to help me shove the car into a parking spot. Hooray! The gas station was only a block and a half away, and I had Eli's little front carrier, so I decided further help was unnecessary. I

 did drastically underestimate the amount of time it would take me to walk a block in a half with a two-year-old, especially when the terrain is riddled with fresh rain puddles. My second angel of the day was the homeless guy who offered to pump the gas into the can so I wouldn't have to lean over with Stinko's legs dangling into the fresh gas stream.

 Finally, a mom of two saw me walking back down the street, Stinko strapped to my front, with Chompy in hand, eating a Spongebob ice cream and still jumping in puddles, and took the time to stop and give us a bottle of water and a couple of pairs of sunglasses, because hey, it gets hot out here in AZ. All of these little acts of kindness helped me weather the storm in good spirits. I know I complain a lot, but sometimes people are so darn nice.