The end of a very long week. Kei is out of town so I was on my own getting the kids up and ready for daycare. I dropped them off and was already running late for work but HAD to stop at Starbucks for coffee. This was definitely a strong coffee morning.

Standing in line to order and a man comes in, taps me on the shoulder and says “do you know you have a flat tire?”. I look out at my poor little car and, sure enough, the front tire is looking sad – totally deflated. I ordered my coffee and started contemplating my options before deciding I would drive the short distance to work, call AAA and wait for them to arrive.

I headed out to the car and the same man who told me about the flat tire walked by and said “I can change that tire for you”. Really? I told him I was happy to call AAA but he said “no, that will take too long and I can change it for you much more quickly”.

And so this stranger who seemingly had nowhere he had to rush to on this Friday morning, decided to drop everything and help me – just to make my morning a little easier.

THEN Les Schwab replaced my tire for free because they couldn’t fix it. It was a used tire with the same amount of tread, but it wasn’t a broken down flat tire.

AND I can be grateful that I made it to work at all. Apparently I had been driving on the tire for some time – probably the 20 or so miles of freeway that I travel down to work every day.

So the day turned out to be one filled with happiness and gratitude – for my untouched bank balance, for my safety (and my kids’ safety) and especially for the good Samaritan who help out this damsel in distress.

P.S. I know my feminist side is letting me down here – I cannot change a tire and have no intention of ever learning. That’s why I pay $50 a year for AAA membership.