Absurd lessons in a moving car

I was woken up at 8:30 in the morning today. By any teenager's standards, this is ridiculously early. Not only this, it has many after-effects too. For starters, I woke up to my head pounding, and my hair going in every possible direction. The ready-to-burst head only worsened the scenario. I got up, put my bare feet on the cold marble floor, but it didn't end in this fairytale-ish way. I stumped my toe against the bedside, dropped a glass of water on the book 'Message in the bottle' *sob* and dropped my cellphone. I'm pretty sure you've guessed what all this led to. Yeah, innumerable abuses flying all around the room, fired at almost every non-living thing. Wingardium Leviosa ! :D (This one was meant purely for the Harry Potter readers. OR else, it's all Greek to you ! )

I made myself a cup of coffee, with the amount of coffee exceeding the quantity of milk. :P I was at my cousin's place, and had to leave ASAP. Hence, I shoved my clothes and books hastily into a carry bag, ready to go. But because life loves doing absolutely annoying things to me, the carry bag split, and I had to make do with carrying everything in my lap.

Life couldn't have possibly gone worse than this, right ?

That's what I thought. Until I saw a sight which shook me up. It's nothing touching. Some may not find it moving at all. Nope, not even remotely. But there are moments in your life when things as simple as a, say, lamppost, teach you great lessons. Yeah, you get the idea. :P

Okay, so I got into the car with my Chachu, who was supposed to drop me home. I was still pretty annoyed, what with the fact that I was holding a mug of VERY hot coffee in a moving car.

As we were about to reach my place, I saw three children sitting in a row on the ground, with dirty plates placed before them. Upon looking closely, I saw that their mother was walking towards them, holding a single Chapati. That's it. She stopped before the first kid, and gave him a part of it. Similarly, she gave the other two a piece too. In the end, there was a small piece left, which I supposed must've been for herself. However, to my immense surprise, she glanced at the children's plates, looked at the barely-there piece of roti, and split it into three parts ! She gave her share to her children.

I'm aware of the fact that such stories aren't uncommon. We hear such things from time to time, and they are no big deal. That's what I thought too. However, watching it in person, seeing it happen right in front of me somehow struck a chord. Life's bad ? Just because of a carry bag who betrayed me, a bedside who conspired against my toe, a glass who found wetting my book funny and an over-flowing mug of coffee in a moving car ? I don't think so. Those kids had a smile on their face. The kind of smile which puts you at peace. Which makes you feel ashamed of your dissatisfied and whiny self.

I love my life the way it is. And this post goes out as a tribute to that lady, that mother. I respect her for what she did, because I know I wouldn't do it for anyone, no matter how much I love the person.