Kind and Friendly People

I’ve had two very specific things happen recently that have made me realize how ungracious I can be. Living south of the Mason-Dixon line has highlighted just how unfriendly the people from my New England home can be.

Just over a week ago, I was driving at night when someone pulled up next to me and honked to get my attention. My guard was immediately thrown up and I was prepared to deal with an irate driver. I’ve spent enough years dealing with New York and New Jersey drivers to know that honking to get attention never leads anywhere good. I gave myself an instant pep talk and was ready to be really snarky. The woman wanted to let me know my headlights had gotten turned off somehow and someone had almost hit me. All I could say was thank you. Then I felt bad. The thought had never occurred to me that someone might try to be helpful.

This morning, we were headed to the Grand Ole Opry House for a tour and stopped for gas on our way. As we were about to pull back into traffic after filling up, a car pulled up to my window and honked. I put my “snark” hat on and was not feeling particularly patient. The woman rolled down her window and simply said:

Your gas tank’s not done up.

Mom “did up” the gas tank and we continued on our way. I blurted out exactly what I was thinking:

I am just not used to people being friendly and helpful.

Unfortunately, it’s true. I don’t expect people to have my best interest in heart and I’m always prepared to defend myself.

Thank you, Nashville and Southern Maryland for teaching me that I need to show more grace.

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This is a post in the 31 Days of Grace series.