[title subtitle=”words: Stoney Stamper
image: April Stamper”][/title]
I woke up Saturday morning grumpy. I had a long week at work and when something went wrong, it went way wrong. Employees didn’t show up for work, I made silly, costly mistakes, caused more than one HR issue, and I had been fighting a kidney stone nearly all week. All I wanted to do was lay around and do nothing. I didn’t want to talk to anyone, I didn’t want to do anything, I was generally being a scrooge.
But, it was the day before Easter, and we had made plans to go to my parents’ house for the weekend. My wife, April, and our daughter, Abby, had gone to shoot pictures for a wedding, and our other daughter, Emma, had a track meet. So, our six-year-old daughter Gracee and I prepared to head on down to their house, and the rest of the crew would meet us there later that evening.
Gracee was so excited. “Me and Dad are going to see Nan and Pops! Come on, Dad! We’ve got to get packed so we can go!” she said. Begrudgingly, I got my grumpy butt up and packed our clothes. She was bouncing off the walls with excitement.
Shrill squeals mixed with bouncing rabbit hops. She could not conceal her elation. This is why we moved back to Oklahoma from Texas, I reminded myself. We wanted to be closer to family, so we could do things like this. I finished packing, fed the horses, loaded Gracee in the truck, and we were off.
It’s about an hour and a half down to Chickasha, where Nan and Pops live. Not a bad drive, but not near as close as Gracee June would like. An hour and a half to her, especially when she’s super excited, must have felt like an eternity. After listening to her talk nonstop, asking “How much longer ‘til we get there?” and telling me stories about her friends, her teachers, her dogs, her dream that she had last night, and anything else under the sun that her amazing little six year old brain could think of, it felt like an eternity to me, too. Did I mention I was grumpy?
I just wanted out of that truck. Somewhere I could enjoy my grumpiness in grumpy solitude. We were almost to Guthrie when Gracee exclaimed, “Daddy, I’m hungry.” I pulled in to an Arby’s drive-thru – Gracee loves their ham and cheese sliders. I ordered two sliders, fries and a drink, and got myself a meal as well. The voice in the speaker bellowed, “Fourteen-twenty-three will be your total.” I pulled forward and reached for my wallet. It wasn’t there!
There’s a small compartment where I keep loose change and random dollar bills in case I need toll money. I dug through it and came up with twelve dollars. I pulled forward and reached for my wallet. It wasn’t there! I always have my wallet. My cards are in order, my insurance cards are in the back, my driver’s license is just in front of them, and it is always in my right, front pocket. I looked in the console, thinking maybe for some reason I’d pulled it out and laid it there, but no. It was not in my pocket and not in my truck.
When the young man came to the window to collect my money, I looked at him sheepishly, embarrassed of my situation. I told him I forgot my wallet at home, the entire time thinking, he probably hears that all the time. I asked him to take the fries off the order and see if I could cover it. He looked at me for a split second and replied, “Hold on just a minute,” then closed the window. Great, I thought, he’s telling his manager there’s some broke dude at the window trying to scam him out of a Beef ‘n’ Cheddar.
He returned moments later, handed me a sack and said, “Here you go, have a great day, and happy Easter.” I said, “I haven’t paid you yet.” He replied, “That’s ok, this one’s on me.” Taken aback, I told him, “No sir! There’s no need for that! I can pay you twelve dollars!” He replied, “No, really, I work two jobs, this one is just for some extra spending money. I used my employee discount, so it was only seven-fifty.” I insisted he take at least seven-fifty, which he reluctantly did.
What a nice young man, I thought as I pulled out of the parking lot. That young man’s generosity had momentarily lifted my scrooge-ness. We’d only driven a couple of miles before my fuel light came on. I had about forty miles to empty and a measly five dollars left. I knew it was about seventy-five miles to Nan and Pop’s house and five dollars would get me two more gallons of gas. I could borrow some money from my dad, if needed. And, April could bring my wallet that night.
A solid plan.
But then, we hit standstill traffic. I’m talking zero mph, a dead stop. Gracee, who had just finished her sandwiches, started the nonstop talking again. I looked at my fuel gauge. After fifteen minutes, we began to move slowly. The gauge showed twenty miles to empty. I was back to being grumpy. We drove slowly down the interstate and I finally saw the reason for the delay in traffic. A red pickup had rolled off the highway and it was completely demolished. My mind went to the day I was hurt so badly in a wreck about a year and a half ago. My stomach knotted up as I surveyed the scene. I said a quick prayer for all involved and immediately looked at Gracee in the mirror and realized our situation was not so bad.
We made it to a gas station I stop at often. I went in and handed the attendant my five, single dollar bills and said, “I need five dollars on pump four.” She recognized me and said, “Five dollars won’t get you very far!” I smiled and said, “Yeah, I left my wallet at home. This was what I had left for tolls, but I’ll be alright.” She replied, “Just put ten in, and you can catch us again the next time you are through.” I said, “Take my five dollars at least and I’ll bring you another five later next week.”
She wouldn’t take it. I walked out of the store with a bit of a pep in my step. As I was pumping my gas, I saw a young man, who looked to be around thirteen, pumping gas in a car. He was smiling from ear to ear. He had special needs and absolutely oozed happiness.
“My mom is letting me pump the gas in the car!” he exclaimed.
I couldn’t help but smile right along with him. “Wow,” I said, “that’s awesome!” He replied, “Yeah, I am getting to pump gas in Mom’s car and we are going to the park! And it’s a beautiful, sunny day, and I get to wear shorts! This is the most awesome day ever!”
His happiness was contagious, and I had caught it. He was right. It was a beautiful day. Nothing terrible had happened. Just a few minor bumps in the road. We got back out on the interstate and it looked like clear sailing from there. Then, I had a random thought. I didn’t think I took my wallet out of the jeans I’d worn the day before. My bag was sitting in the passenger seat. I dug out my jeans, reached in the pocket, and pulled out my wallet. I’d had it the whole time! But if I’d known that, I likely wouldn’t have been on the receiving end of all that kindness. It really is true that God’s timing is always perfect, and I’d say His timing runs smoother than a Swiss watch.
Stoney Stamper is the bestselling author of My First Rodeo: How Three Daughters, One Wife, and a Herd of Others Are Making Me a Better Dad (WaterBrook) and author of the popular parenting blog The Daddy Diaries. He and his wife, April, have three daughters and live in Oklahoma, where they are heavily involved in agriculture and raise and show a variety of animals.
