Lessons from the ditch

It's a snowy, blowy day in GR, but I'm trying to not be wimpy, and show up for my dental appointment anyway. However, as I follow the curve on the entry ramp to I-131, my car goes into a spin and off the road... pluf! No injury to me or the car, just immobilized in a ditch filled with snow. In spite of my mature years I tend to rely on my husband for a lot of help, but I decided, "no, I'm calling AAA before I ever let my husband know that I'm in a ditch." I called AAA and they were very polite, efficient, and let me know it would be about an hour before the local tow truck could get to me. OK, good thing I brought along a book to read.

What do you do when you're stuck? There was no point in getting out of the car; I was warmer staying inside the car. Thankfully the tank was full of gas, so I had no fear of running out of gas. I admit, after calling AAA, I did call my husband. He advised me to keep the car engine running if I could see the smoke from the exhaust (just making sure that the exhaust pipe was not blocked). I felt much better just knowing that the one who loves me the most, was well aware of my situation, and praying for my safe "rescue".

It wasn't long before a tow truck came. He stopped, got out of the truck & came to offer his services, but unfortunately he wasn't the AAA representative, so after making sure I was ok, he went on his way. A few minutes later a fire engine and ambulance arrived with lights flashing. As the fireman got out of his truck, I lowered the window & let him know I was alright. He looked over the car inside & out, making sure I wasn't hurt. I let him know that I hadn't dialed 911, to which he replied, "No, but a concerned passerby did." Later a woman in a mini-van stopped, lowered her window and asked if I needed help (probably knowing all the time about the only thing she could have done would be to make a phone call or just hold my hand). She too left when I let her know I was fine & just waiting for AAA to show up.

Then a policeman arrived. He got out of his car, politely asked about me first, then just as politely asked to see my car registration. I told him I had no idea what happened. He quickly responded, "I do. You were driving too fast." "Apparently" I said, "but I didn't think I had been driving too fast." He, too, went on his way once he had confirmed my registration, and found that I had everything under control.

My total wait time was actually under the estimated hour, during which I read and reassured those who stopped that I was just fine. When the AAA driver arrived, he hooked up my car to his towing engine, gave me some simple but necessary instructions, and then skillfully pulled the car (& me) out of the ditch. Even as strong as his engine was, there was a small "hitch" when the snow piled up around the hook, which actually caused it to fall off. But my skilled AAA driver also knew how to corrrect this problem & rehooked the cable to the car to finish off the tow. As he unhooked the cable, he said to me "You were my best rescue today! It's so much easier when the stranded driver can handle the car."

As an immersion teacher I get stumped or "stranded" sometimes. I need to use all the resources that I've been given (books, training, experience, intuition), but many times I still need to call in other help. I frequently have many people who want to help, people who are gifted, generous, kind; but they're not always the people I need at that time. I sometimes have to wait for, or look for just the right person to respond to my need. Sometimes the people who come to help me are the ones who just hold up the mirror to help me see what I really need or am really doing. They're not being critical, they're just telling me the obvious, what they really see happening. What a gift that is! I often wish I could "watch myself" in action. Either what I'm doing is not effective, or what I'm doing is not what I think I'm doing, and therefore still not effective. What a joy it is when I find the person who has just the right answer/tip/resource to help me with the issue at hand! I return to my classroom so excited about trying out this new idea and anticipating how my students will respond!

I was so relieved when the AAA driver was respectful and helpful, without making me feel stupid for ending up in a ditch. And that final message "you were my best rescue all day" so reminds me how important it is to let my kids know how each and every one of them is so special and important to me. Please forgive me for those days when I forget to tell you or show you that. You are very special and important to me! ¡TQM!

Sheryl René