Mean Trucks!
The other day, I had a problem that really opened my eyes to something.
Our children really do notice their environment and what goes on around them.
They really are aware and understand a lot more than we as parents could ever realize!
As a warning to adults, you may not realize it, but you are a role model for children, even if all you are doing is driving from your home to the grocery store or to the gas station, even.
I know, because my child was very upset when we almost were hit by an eighteen wheeler the other day.
We had just picked up my eldest from school, and were headed down Gilbert to take Bregon to the Renzi Center for his after school program.
We were going to take the turn over by First Baptist where the Gilbert meets Ockley and stay on Gilbert to go to the red light, but then I noticed something odd.
Lucky for us, I noticed, too, because I am seriously afraid of what would have happened had I taken the usual route automatically.
I saw a rather unusual site coming down the road. Apparently, a grayish white eighteen wheeler (that probably should not have been in a residential section to begin with) came barreling down Gilbert and took the turn at the light.
Apparently he wasn't planning on stopping, because he actually missed the stop signs that are posted just after the light at the turn.
In fact, he missed the correct lane altogether, as well and barrelled through, ignoring the stop signs and the fact that this is NOT EUROPE and he was driving on the wrong side of the road in my lane!
He ran the stop sign and didn't even stop for the oncoming traffic! Luckily, I saw him coming and was able to stop before he hit us.
Thankfully, nobody was behind us, either, so we didn't get rear-ended. I don't know what this person was thinking, driving like that.
I don't really think he could have stopped something so large if he had wanted to at the speed he was going!
The driver seemed annoyed that I had dared use my horn, but what do you do in a situation like that?
If he had hit us, it would have impacted the front corner of my van and I don't think we would have made it at the speed he was driving.
I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't gone on and treated the turn as if I was going past the church instead of trying to stay on Gilbert, too!
But as he drove away, I heard this little voice from the back of my van say, "MEAN TRUCK!"
Then, Kian began to cry. He wasn't crying just a little bit, either, he was outright sobbing, saying, "Mean truck" over and over again.
You see, ever since he was old enough to have likes and dislikes, Kian has LOVED trucks of any sort. Big trucks, little trucks, old trucks, new trucks, he loved them ALL equally.
Trucks are his happy thought, and this truck had betrayed that, somehow, by driving badly and nearly hitting us.
He is only 2, but he recognized that this truck was driving badly and could have hurt us.
So, you see, little people understand and comprehend much more than we ever realize.
The next time you get the urge to cut someone off in traffic, or run a red light or stop sign, remember, a little person could be watching and THEY KNOW!
Our children really do notice their environment and what goes on around them.
They really are aware and understand a lot more than we as parents could ever realize!
As a warning to adults, you may not realize it, but you are a role model for children, even if all you are doing is driving from your home to the grocery store or to the gas station, even.
I know, because my child was very upset when we almost were hit by an eighteen wheeler the other day.
We had just picked up my eldest from school, and were headed down Gilbert to take Bregon to the Renzi Center for his after school program.
We were going to take the turn over by First Baptist where the Gilbert meets Ockley and stay on Gilbert to go to the red light, but then I noticed something odd.
Lucky for us, I noticed, too, because I am seriously afraid of what would have happened had I taken the usual route automatically.
I saw a rather unusual site coming down the road. Apparently, a grayish white eighteen wheeler (that probably should not have been in a residential section to begin with) came barreling down Gilbert and took the turn at the light.
Apparently he wasn't planning on stopping, because he actually missed the stop signs that are posted just after the light at the turn.
In fact, he missed the correct lane altogether, as well and barrelled through, ignoring the stop signs and the fact that this is NOT EUROPE and he was driving on the wrong side of the road in my lane!
He ran the stop sign and didn't even stop for the oncoming traffic! Luckily, I saw him coming and was able to stop before he hit us.
Thankfully, nobody was behind us, either, so we didn't get rear-ended. I don't know what this person was thinking, driving like that.
I don't really think he could have stopped something so large if he had wanted to at the speed he was going!
The driver seemed annoyed that I had dared use my horn, but what do you do in a situation like that?
If he had hit us, it would have impacted the front corner of my van and I don't think we would have made it at the speed he was driving.
I shudder to think what would have happened if I hadn't gone on and treated the turn as if I was going past the church instead of trying to stay on Gilbert, too!
But as he drove away, I heard this little voice from the back of my van say, "MEAN TRUCK!"
Then, Kian began to cry. He wasn't crying just a little bit, either, he was outright sobbing, saying, "Mean truck" over and over again.
You see, ever since he was old enough to have likes and dislikes, Kian has LOVED trucks of any sort. Big trucks, little trucks, old trucks, new trucks, he loved them ALL equally.
Trucks are his happy thought, and this truck had betrayed that, somehow, by driving badly and nearly hitting us.
He is only 2, but he recognized that this truck was driving badly and could have hurt us.
So, you see, little people understand and comprehend much more than we ever realize.
The next time you get the urge to cut someone off in traffic, or run a red light or stop sign, remember, a little person could be watching and THEY KNOW!
posted by Mimi Rankin Webb at 10:45 AM
Mimi is the mother of four: a 12 1/2-year-old boy and 1-year-old triplets (two boys and one girl). She is very happily busy taking care of everyone, whether it's the triplets' multiple doctor appointments, attempting a shopping excursion or volunteering to plan her son's school renaissance festival.
5 Comments:
Thank God you or your son weren’t hurt, as a retired semi driver I can relate to what must have been a frightening experience. During my 30+ years of driving big trucks I’ve always been very conscious of safety, as a result I’ve also seen people drive in similar fashion, and the only way to protect yourself and your family is to be very observant of everything around you. I hope that your son gets over this incident because not all of us trucks out there are mean.
This comment has been removed by the author.
Thank goodness you were paying attention and nobody was hurt. I let my teenager read your blog last night to show him that just because he is a good driver things can't happen. He just thinks he in invincible sometimes.
Hope this doesn't stop him from loving his trucks. My 2 yr old is in love with school busses and motorcycles.
Thank goodness you were paying attention and nobody was hurt. I let my teenager read your blog last night to show him that just because he is a good driver things can't happen. He just thinks he in invincible sometimes.
Hope this doesn't stop him from loving his trucks. My 2 yr old is in love with school busses and motorcycles.
it was really frightening because that is the intersection where, at easter, someone got run off the road, hit one of the trees at the jogging trail, and flipped & caught on fire & died...
& thats all i could think about afterwards-
kian is better now, but he was truly upset at the time-it would be kind of like finding out that your favorite superhero was really not a nice person i guess!
but seriously, whenever we are out driving, my kids are watching the cars & traffic around us like its a great tv show- they LOVE cars & trucks-in fact to them the interstate is like a great amusement park ride of sorts! they squeal & giggle & bounce up & down as if they were riding its a small world or something!!!
so really, they do notice if something bad happens!!!
hope the blog helped your son realize what its like out there on the road! its a scary place most days, especially with trucks that really shouldnt be in a neighborhood!!! turns out, saw a movie shooting @ south highlands yesterday, & the type of truck is the EXACT SAME as they use for shoots-which would explain its presence where it normally shouldnt be- just hoping that someone out there notices & tells someone in charge that the drivers need to BE MORE CAREFUL of neighborhood traffic! what if that truck had run up on the jogging path?? that would have been awful too! because he was definately NOT on the right side of the road even!!!
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