On my way to work today, something happened that struck me in a big way. I didn’t expect it, and perhaps that’s why I felt compelled to share it with you.
In order to get to the expressway, I have to drive on a two lane road. Along the way there are many homes, a church or two and a few businesses. As I drove south, I noticed a couple pedestrians walking north, close to the curb. They were on my side of the road. Obviously, because of the storm, not many of the sidewalks had been cleared, so they opted to walk in the road.
From a distance, I couldn’t tell much about them, other than they were walkers. The closer I got to them, the more I could see that they were two young boys probably pre-teens. I could see that there were no cars coming towards me in the other lane, so long before I was close to them, I got over into those lanes so that they didn’t have to get off the street and into the snow.
As I got closer, the one boy raised his hand in a wave and as I passed mouthed “Thank you.” I waved back at them as I passed and nodded. That small gesture from that boy brought a smile to my face. He didn’t have to acknowledge me at all, but he did. I sit here still pondering it.
Polite pre-teens are few and far between. Perhaps they have even become a stereotype. You know: rude, mean, bullying, know everything, etc… That’s what most of the TV shows, movies and even the nightly news portrays them as anyway. Not this kid, at least from what I witnessed today.
Kudos to that kid! Be different, young man. Break that stereotype. Be kind. Be thankful. Kudos to his parents or whoever is raising that boy to show respect. We need more of that!
One simple wave. One simple thank you. It gives me hope for humanity.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 
outstanding point. I’m glad you noticed and reported it, it’s often those very little gestures that mean a lot and can turn a day around.
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Wait…you mean you saw two gen z’s out walking? WOW…they are breaking stereotype lol.
Glad he did that….there is hope.
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I absolutely love this
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Sometimes we don’t have to look too hard to find the positives ….
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People frequently tell me how helpful, polite, and well-mannered my oldest is. And how caring and kind my three year old is. (2/3 isn’t bad.😅) It’s really a blessing and an affirmation as parents that we’re doing something right.
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Indeed a blessing. We can only do our best and hope that they take it out to the world. Of course, sometimes I think that the bad behavior of kids sometimes stems from what they learned at home, too, sadly. Which is why we need to constantly be the good example.
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I’ve had a similar experience and I agree it’s all too rare. Good to know there’s more out there, thanks for sharing.
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A sweet gesture from you both.
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A great story and an important lesson. Waving to you was just as meaningful as you giving the boys some space in the road. Adults can learn a thing or two from that boy. Kudos to his parents for raising him well. 👋🏼
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My son is one of those polite teenagers. It always bothers me that movies and TV show teens to be sullen and rude all the time. Not all of them are. I get that it is more interesting to a story to have one that isn’t polite, but I’m lucky that I’ve mainly seen the good side of them. Yeah, a few of the bad too…some I wanted to step out of my car and slap myself.
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Wonderful.
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