Tonight

I was driving home tonight and I was stopped at an intersection waiting for a red light to turn green. I saw an African-American woman walk behind my truck. She came around near the passenger side, and when I looked at her, she started saying something to me through the window. I was wondering if I knew this woman and just couldn't place her - maybe she was a mother of one of the kids that I had worked with before. I don't remember if I put down the window first or opened the passenger door, but the next thing I know she is getting into my truck and saying "Hello, my name is Christie." I think that's what her name was. The odor of alcohol and marijuana,I believe, filled my truck. She had a large beer bottle in a small paper sack. At first she told me she needed to go to the grocery store down the street. As we were headed in that direction, she asked me if I knew where the alternative school was. I said I did. So then she said she needed to go over there to that neighborhood. It was at that point that I think I started getting pretty anxious.

Winding my way through some pretty rough neighborhoods - I've only been in that part of town during the day - I kept trying to make small talk in an effort to be nice. I do remember that at one point I said, "Yeah, you shouldn't have to walk this far to get to your house." When we finally got to the destination, she told me to back up a little bit because the people who lived in the house that I was parked in front of wouldn't like it if I was there - I really had no clue what that meant, but I was scared at this point. She then said, "I hate to ask, but do you have a couple of dollars?"

I said I would have to look and was thinking that she was going to rob me when my wallet came out of my book bag. I had exactly two dollars that I gave to her. She asked if I had any more. I literally showed her my wallet so that she could see that I didn't. She got out of my truck and that's when I noticed an African-American man walking toward my door. My heart was pounding. My window was down because it was a pretty mild night. He asked, "Hey, can I ask you something?" as he approached my truck.

I said, "Yes sir."

"Do you have a dollar?"

I said, "I'm sorry, I just gave all of my money to her. Y'all have a good night."

And I drove off.

Did I do the right thing by allowing her to get into my truck? Would I have been as scared if she had been a white woman? I'm pretty sure she was drunk and was high too - should that make a difference in me wanting to help her? Just random thoughts as I thank God for taking care of me tonight.

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my job

Some really good friends of mine recently sent me an e-mail asking if my job brought me joy. Watch this and you'll see why my answer was yes.

My kids are great!!

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he's here

My nephew arrived today at 5:45 p.m. He weighed 9 lbs. 6 oz. He measured 20.5 inches. He's a big boy. He's pink except for when he gets aggravated (he didn't like the nurses prodding him at all). When he gets upset and cries, he turns red. When I finally got to hold him, his eyes were closed, so I didn't get to see what color his eyes were. He has a lot of brown hair right now. He's perfect. My sister is in some pain - and I can tell you that seeing her in pain makes me really, really upset. I hope the pain medication works tonight so she can enjoy her son more tomorrow.

What a wonderful blessing this child is. I can't wait to see him again. So far, I love being an uncle.

on becoming an uncle

My older sister will check into the hospital tonight. Her labor will be induced tomorrow morning at 7:30. I remember thinking how crazy it was that she was going to have a baby when she gave us the news back in the fall. I was quite alright with her getting married last spring, but she having a baby was an idea I had to get used to.

So I wonder how he's going to look. Will he favor my brother-in-law? Will he favor my sister? Will he be a perfect combination of both? I wonder how his personality will be. His parents are quite easy-going - I wonder if that will change when he arrives tomorrow. I figure that he will somehow feel that and be pretty laid back as well. I also wonder how my relationship with him will affect him. Will I acknowledge his feelings when he's feeling happy and feeling sad? Will I give him a sense that he's being understood when I'm around him? Will he anticipate me coming around just like I'm anticipating him arriving tomorrow? Will he know that God purposefully created him, and that more than anything he is loved by his creator? Can I help in some way to make my nephew aware of this?

My life changes tomorrow. When my youngest sister was born, I was nine years old. I wasn't aware back then about how relationships change a person. I know that this child will influence my thoughts and my behavior in different ways. I pray that God helps me to influence him in a positive way. It's all quite exciting. I'll let you know how the little guy is.

Thanks for reading.