As the work-at-home dad I am part of things at home that I would otherwise miss. Some of those things are cool and some are smelly, if you catch what I mean. Sammy is 19 months old and in the last few months he has become interested in the garbage trucks that come up and down our street collecting trash.
Iâ??m sure to him they look like huge, mean, dinosaur machines but he isnâ??t afraid of themâ?¦heâ??s just fascinated. Three different trucks come up our street each week; the trash truck, the recycling truck, and the one that picks up â??green wasteâ? (otherwise known as yard waste).
About a month or more ago Sammy and I were out in the front yard when the recycling truck came through. He was in awe. I sat with him on the ground in case he got scared but he loved it. The super cool part was the driver waving at Sammy and pulling the big horn lever. That driver did all that with a smile on his face up the street into the cul-de-sac and back down the street doing the same thing again when he got across from our house.
Since that first time we have been out there for that driver several other times. Each time the truck driver stops his truck and waves at Sammy. He pulls the horn and smiles. Itâ??s almost like doing that with Sammy made his day.
Whatâ??s the point of all this?
I might have several points here. One, most of us ignore the garbage truck dudes if we even acknowledge them at all. Most Generic Cialis of us think garbage men are beneath us. I can tell you they are not.
Second, the fact that this â??insignificantâ? garbage man acknowledges my son and interacts with him through a friendly smile, a wave, and a honk of the dinosaur truck hornâ?¦thatâ??s pretty cool in my opinion. He could ignore Sammy just as most of us ignore themâ?¦but he doesnâ??t.
Third, it was a reminder to me that we are each human. Regardless of our path, the color of our skin, the religion we do or donâ??t practice, the person we want to marry, how much money is in our account, and so onâ?¦we each have something to give, to offer, to bring to the table that IS significant.
Do we treat a garbage man or a house cleaner differently than the CEO of a Fortune 500 company? We sure do. Why? Itâ??s because we are taught to label people, place them in categories. Most of the categories imply â??successfulâ? or â??failureâ?. Sad to me really. Itâ??s possible that garbage man touches more hearts than the CEO.
I know, this is corny and stupid. I know, cute idea but itâ??s not how the world works. But why? Those of you that have that reaction to this, why does it have to be our world? Why canâ??t we change it? Why canâ??t you change it? Are compassion and kindness really that â??uncoolâ??
As much as I love money I would rather Sammy grow up to be a kind garbage man than an asshole CEO. Thanks to the recycling truck driverâ?¦you make my kids day when you cruise through.
It’s hard to ignore that cute little boy!!! The points you make are so valid. I hope that even on my most “unaware” days, that I remember to smile at people around me. And I hope that smile reaches my eyes. Thanks for the reminder, Matt! Love you 3!!!
Nice Matt!
So glad to see this post. I have always felt that way and dislike being with people who thing because someone has money or is famous that that person is somehow better than you, me or the garbage man. Kindness fosters kindness. Your recycle guy has taught Sammy something very profound.
When my boys were both small they loved going to the fire station in Burlingame. The firemen took the time to let them climb on the truck, gave them “kid” fire helmets and showed them around the firehouse.
They unselfishly gave their time and lots of smiles. When they heard sirens they went running to see their new friends in action. Like you, I truly appreciated the time as strangers, they gave my sons.
Mary Ann, sorry I missed your comment. I think it’s so cool when adults take that time. For a period of time those people are heroes to our kids. I think it’s very cool.
247897 596637Yay google is my world beater assisted me to locate this wonderful internet site! . 498012
482173 93247An attention-grabbing dialogue is value comment. I believe which you need to write far more on this matter, it wont be a taboo topic nonetheless generally individuals are not sufficient to speak on such topics. Towards the next. Cheers 134093
332293 22580Hello my family member! I wish to say that this post is amazing, wonderful written and come with approximately all vital infos. I would like to see extra posts like this . 992796
792837 894470You made some decent points there. I looked on the net for any problem and identified most individuals goes in addition to with all your site. 472423
167318 997667Extremely nice design and fantastic content material , nothing else we want : D. 682621
367882 174684hey I was quite impressed with the setup you used with this weblog. I use blogs my self so good job. definatly adding to bookmarks. 409441
720946 971870I adore gathering helpful information, this post has got me even much more info! . 314329
603745 912280I simply need to let you know that you have written an excellent and distinctive write-up that I actually enjoyed reading. Im fascinated by how properly you laid out your material and presented your views. Thank you. 873866