My wife’s scream brought my eyes back to the road. It happened so quickly and yet took forever. The car in front of me was at a complete stop. I braked, swerved and smashed my Daihatsu Charade into the back-end of a very nice BMW.
It was only then, looking above the BMW, that I saw the red light.
Staring across the front of my crumpled car, I followed the bruised BMW to the side of the road. My three kids were crying in the back. My wife was beside herself beside me. And I was terrified of the angry tirade I was about to receive from the other driver.
Instead, the BMW driver walked to my wife’s window and asked if she was ok. She said she was. Then he looked into the back and asked the kids. They nodded. Then he looked across at me and said, almost serenely, “We should swap details so our insurance companies can sort this out.”
We did.
And I spent the rest of the day thinking, How did he do that and how can I become like him?
Our children learn from us and how we react to things. The BMW driver has been a repeated story in our home. When we encounter things that happen to us – things that just aren’t fair – How can we be like the BMW driver?
*Note: This story took place years ago.
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