Three acts of kindness…

I was so excited that my childhood friend from Sweden was in Sydney with her family and making the effort to fly to Melbourne to see me.

On the morning of her arrival, I set off to drop my son at school before going to the airport. He was driving and as we sat at the lights, the driver next to us honked and pointed at the ground at the front of our car. We wound down the window and he informed us that the tyre was flat. We thanked him for letting us know. As we drove to the closest service station to investigate, my son said he thought the steering felt a bit strange.

When we parked and hopped out of the car to look it was pretty obvious why the tyre was flat. There was a huge screw stuck in the side of it and as I started to pump it up, I could hear the air coming out.

Not sure how to get ourselves to a mechanic to get it fixed, I went inside and asked the attendant if they had a can of the stuff you spray inside to keep the tyre inflated. They didn't but another attendant overheard and said he'd come out to have a look.

When he saw the screw he asked if I had a spare tyre. I knew I had all the gear but was worried about my son being too late for school and me having to get to the airport. This very kind man offered to do it for me saying it would only take 15 minutes and that it would be a good learning opportunity for my son who'd never changed one. I very gratefully accepted his help which was lucky as he struggled to undo the overly tight nuts which he said I'd never have been able to budge.

While we were watching him change the tyre, a car pulled up behind us. A man wound down his window and offered to take my son to school. To say I was surprised by this generosity was an understatement but both my son and I felt a little awkward about it. I thanked the man very much for his generosity and he said that he wouldn't have sent his son off with a stranger either but he wanted to offer.

With the tyre changed, I looked at the filthy hands of our saviour and felt so guilty. I hugged and thanked him over and over. "Ah, it's all part of the service," he said. Honestly, I didn't think that kind of service existed anymore, especially as we hadn't purchased anything, so it was such a refreshing surprise.

My son was a little late to school but didn't miss much. My friend's flight was delayed a little, so I didn't have to rush. I was feeling so grateful for those three acts of kindness that turned a not so perfect day into one that I'll remember with fondness for a long time. - Lis