It happened one day last week.

I left work that afternoon at my usual time and I was tired, really tired. And to beat all, I hadn’t felt well all day – you know that feeling that you get right before you get officially sick? Runny nose, cough, aching.. all the symptoms of a cold coming on.

Charlie, along with a good friend of his,  had left town just an hour earlier heading to Atlanta.  In his absence, I was looking forward to going home, settling into my pjs, and curling up into bed with my dogs along with a hot cup of tea.

Except I hit a bump in the road – literally. Well, a convenient store parking lot curb to be specific. 

I was thirsty. Maybe from the excessive coughing; maybe from the cold medicine I had taken  earlier. So I benignly decided to stop at the convenient store for a soda before going home.

And boom!

What was that?

Damn.

The curb. I hit the curb.

Instantly the low tire indicator came on and it was just a matter of finding out exactly which tire I had blown.

With my heart and mind racing, I got out of my car to discover the right front tire was flatter than the batch of homemade biscuits I attempted to make last year.

I drive a Chevrolet Volt (it’s electric). Spare tires are not included…. something about space availability… carrying extra weight…bla bla bla.  So, here I am in a parking lot, miles from home, with a flat tire.

Am I in danger?

No.

Am I hurt?

No.

But I am in need of a tow truck. And maybe a hug.

So I called Charlie in hopes of a hearing a friendly voice and getting a tow truck connection. As embarrassed as I was to tell the story, “Honey I jumped a curb, I have a flat tire”, I made the call anyway.

And what did he say?

Those three words that sometimes we all need to hear.

“I’ll be there”.

“No honey”, I said (maybe not too convincingly), “I’m grown, I can take care of it. Keep heading south, just call me a tow truck please.”

Charlie immediately got on the phone with the insurance company and got the process started on getting a tow truck to my location.

As I sat there in my car waiting on the tow truck (not much else to do), I thought about all the times I was forced to handle these situations on my own for so long. Did I manage? Yes, yes I did. And I gained confidence each and every time I made it through another challenge.

But I gotta tell you, it felt good having Charlie to call, having someone to say, “I’ll be there”. No questions asked…. well, maybe, “How did you not see that curb?”…  🙂

In the end, Charlie and Stephan made it there before the tow truck did – and I was so glad to see those friendly faces!

May I always remember how sweet those three words are, and to be that friendly voice on the other end of the phone when needed.

Peace (and keep it on the road),

Cat