Wednesday evening at 11pm, does anyone want to take a guess at what was I doing?

Anyone…take a guess.

Let’s think about this, was I at the grand opening of a hip new art gallery in midtown? No. Did I make an appearance at a popular club in the village? or did I drink sangria in the fashion district? once again, no and no.

What was I doing at 11pm on a Wednesday? Well, I was stranded at the side of a 4 series highway in a company car with an intern.

You might be wondering, “Kyle, how in the world did you find yourself in this situation?”, the answer is seen in the devastating moment when I noticed the speedometer drop from 100, to 80, to 50, to 30, to 20, and to comatose.

When in driving school, you learn the protocols of what to do in a dire situation:

1. Put on signal

2. Swerve to road side and off the road safe from traffic

3. Put on emergency blinkers

4. call for help.

Now I will not lie to you, as I watched the speedometer drop and the car begin to jerk, I began to panic and yell out some obscenities as I attempted to remember what was taught to me back in that cramped driving school classroom years ago.

We all come to an age where we separate from parental control and grow into our own person…our own aura! Think of it as a green caterpillar growing into a beautiful butterfly….think of that, but add debt and impending alcoholism.

It was in this moment that I swallowed my ego, pulled out my phone and called the only person that could do something about this “no gas situation”, I called my mother.

After bypassing some clear anger, she hopped into her car, purchased some gas and drove 30 minutes away from her house to rescue me from this dilemma.

While I was not too pleased to be saved by my mother, I could not help but feel anything but grateful. While we all need to grow into our own being, it is OKAY to ask for help, It is OKAY to fail and it is OKAY to need assistance! Though we try to be perfect and to strive for our very best at all times, it is quite an unrealistic mindset.

Questioning is an act that has been an ongoing feat for generations. We are programmed to forgo asking questions out of the fear of appearing idiotic! Hell, even socrates the man who began questioning, was sentenced to forced suicide for his taking part in asking TOO MANY BLOODY QUESTIONS.

Let’s face it, we are all children trapped in the body of an adult. Sure, we have more hair and regrets but that does not mean we have the maturity and knowledge needed to render up energy and intellect to solve all of life’ greatest conundrums. Like for example: “How the hell do I get gas at 11pm at night on a Wednesday in the middle of a 4 series highway”.

While we might get aggravated by them and we might wait for the day to leave their grasp, we honestly could not have grown into the people that we are without them.

All I can say is thank you to all of the mothers.
And a personal shout out to mine for saving my ass, Wednesday night at 11pm.