"Unexpected good can come your way at any time."
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Several years ago, when our girls were about four, my wife and I were about to depart for a much needed date weekend to Santa Barbara. It takes a lot to get out of the house on a Friday afternoon, leaving three kids at home with a baby sitter, while giving and making final instructions, preparations and warnings. So it was dark by the time we left.
I told our babysitter, as we went out the door, to move her car onto the driveway by the garage, as they do not allow you to park on the street overnight in our neighborhood, and I didn't want her to get a ticket.
As we got on the freeway, we remembered that we had forgotten something at home, which was so important that I can't remember now what it was. So, we turned around and went back.
It didn't take long to find the mystery object, so we weren't there too long but to hug and kiss our kids goodbye again and issue a few more instructions and warnings.
In a bit of a hurry, I pulled out of the garage, as we planned to have dinner in Santa Barbara and now were running late for our reservation. We ran squarely into our babysitter's black car looming in the dark, which had not been there ten minutes before when I had inadvertently suggested that she park it where I could run into it.
If it had been a watermelon and I a karate expert, I couldn't have hit it more precisely. The driver door was completely caved in. The car was still drivable, my face was red, the babysitter was understanding, especially since I said I would pay to have it fixed. So we were on our way, again.
We did manage to make it safely to Santa Barbara and have a lovely dinner and a wonderful weekend. When we returned, I told our babysitter to find a body shop that she trusted would do a good job, and I would pay for the repairs. But she delayed, and every couple of weeks or so I would ask her how it was going on getting her car fixed.
Then, one Friday night, she told us her car had been stolen. This took a few minutes to sink in, but I realized, a bit sheepishly, that I was essentially off the hook.
She was paid by the insurance company, we added some to her funds, and she got a new car, with no dent, and never parked on our driveway again.
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