The Hubby was outside, on the back patio, cooking an enormous amount of bacon for our bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches. They were also great, by the way.
Haley is in North Carolina for the weekend, but Hayden and Kylee were both in the house, waiting on lunch to be finished.
Something outside caught my eye.
I look up and see a stranger in our front yard, heading toward our house.
Stranger. Danger.
I say, "Who is that in our yard?," as I'm moving, quickly, upstairs to get my beloved Smith & Wesson.
I must throw in here that I don't care what your political views on gun control are.
The only view I have, right this minute, is there's a stranger in my front yard, moving toward our house.
I have a Bodyguard. I know how to use it and I'm not afraid to use it.
The guy, as I'm coming downstairs, has hopped on Hayden's bicycle and is riding away.
Hayden, 9, starts yelling, "He's on my bike. That dude has my bike!"
Kylee and Hayden and I go outside and Kylee yells at the guy to stop.
He immediately stops and comes back toward the house, walking the bike, saying, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."
I ask him what is he doing, to which he replies, his girlfriend/wife is at the hospital having a baby and he's trying to get there.
So, you steal a 9 year-olds bike?
He says, "I'm sorry, I'm really sorry, I'm just trying to get there."
At this point, the Hubby comes around the corner of the house, and says, "You know that's stealing, right?"
The guy, which you can tell is really young, says, "Yes Sir, I know, I'm so sorry."
Long story short, he's a 19 year-old kid, who was working on a house in the next neighborhood.
He gets word somehow that his wife/girlfriend is about to have a baby, his first baby, and he has no way to get there.
He, initially, starts out on foot heading to the hospital, which is about a 15 minute drive by car, passes our house, sees the bike, and knows it will get him to his firstborn sooner than walking will.
So, in a moment of desperation, he takes the bike.
He's standing in front of us with that deer in the headlight look.
I'm no thief, but, if I'm in the same type situation, and say, my kids are at the hospital and I have no car or anybody that can get me there, I might do the same thing.
Well, I may as well take the "might" out of it.
I would do the same thing.
I'm standing there, gun in hand, debating what's gonna happen next.
Hubby hands the bacon off to me and loads the kid up and drives him to the hospital.
On the way, the Hubby finds out his name, life story, and lectures him on how fortunate he is because he could have ended up in jail or even worse, dead.
He also scheduled a job interview with him on Friday.
Yep, you read it right.
He's coming Friday.
I joked and told Haley not to worry, he'll probably be at Thanksgiving Dinner and she can meet him then.
However, since it all happened, I've wondered if he's met his son or daughter yet?
Is the baby ok?
Is Mom ok?
How will they get home?
See, life can change in an instant, but you can also change a life in an instant.
Hopefully, today, this kid's life has been changed for the better.
Hopefully, he realizes the error of his way and won't make the same mistake again.
My life has changed too, knowing it could have been me on the other end of the bicycle.
On a much less serious note, it's made me realize even more that my family needs a reality show, because, as I say all the time, you CAN NOT make this stuff up.
I will keep you posted on the interview and let you know how it all works out.
Happy Sunday, y'all!
I hope yours has been calmer than ours.
Love you MUCH!
=],
Gracie.
