HAPPY MONDAY!
A slight misunderstanding leads to today’s word-of-the-week…
STOPPING
She walked her bike slowly along the bike trail.
Broken chain? Flat tire? When I see someone with bike trouble I always stop. I usually can’t actually do anything, but occasionally I’m able to offer a little advice or make a phone call. When it’s a female, alone in an isolated spot, I can offer to hang out until help arrives.
“Everything okay?” That’s when I noticed the tears. I thought it was kind of silly to cry over bike problems, but I guess it’s no worse than getting angry or cussing, which I’ve heard some people do.
“Yeah,” she sobbed, “I’m just going through a bad breakup.” Uh-oh. I’m guessing whatever broke wasn’t bike parts.
She jumped into a non-stop summary of her last two weeks, trying to start grad school while her longtime boyfriend left and returned and left again, how she secretly knew this was the right thing but it was still really hard.
After about five minutes she finally paused. “It was really nice of you to stop. I decided to take a ride this morning to clear my mind, but I just lost my energy. I’ve probably been walking and crying for two or three miles, and you’re the first person who even noticed.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell her I only stopped because I thought her bike was broken. Besides, I’m not sure she would have allowed me to insert a word into our “conversation.”
“You know,” she continued, “I just need to get back on my bike. And I need to do the same thing in my life.” She smiled weakly.
“Thanks for stopping.” She climbed on her bike and pedaled away.
“Glad I could help,” I said to her back. Even though I didn’t do anything, I chuckled to myself.
We underestimate the value of simply stopping, don’t we?
Have a great week.
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