Do you remember my encounter with the road-rage momma? It happened back in December, after I innocently and totally accidentally cut off another driver. The women followed me for three miles to verbally rip me a new one. Although I was sure that I *would* see her again – at some point – I figured it would be in passing. You know, like, at the grocery store or something like that.
Well, it happened. I saw her again…
On Monday, YaYa had his first baseball practice with his new little league team. His new team’s name is the Tigers. YaYa was very excited. He was already dressed in his baseball attire when I picked him up at daycare. Thank goodness.
We were on time for practice, but barely. I followed a white van into the parking lot. The van pulled into a spot and I pulled into the neighboring parking spot. I glanced over to see if the driver was someone that I knew from one of the previous seasons. It was.
I recognized her right away. She was the mother of J, a nice little boy who played on YaYa’s team last year. We sat together at many games, but I never really got to know her like some of the other Moms. Still her face was familiar to me. I smiled and waved as YaYa gathered his things.
There was something else familiar about her. I couldn’t be sure, but there was something about looking at her through the passenger window that brought me right back to that miserable moment. Oh no, I thought.
As we shuttled our kids to the field, you could feel the tension in the air. For me, it was telling – she *was* the same women. It could be an interesting season.
Well, I saw her again today and will see her again every Monday, Friday and Saturday. Today, I initiated a little more small talk. It went okay. I began wondering if we could just pretend it didn’t happen and move on.
*sigh*
Could that really happen?
Photo source: http://www.tulipgirl.com/
LOL. Oh my God! If you put people’s emotions in the context of the moment, you can empathize with them and move on. Good luck!!
If you can let it go and smile at her then she should most definitely be able to let it go. If she can’t then she seriously needs help.
LOTF–What a feeling that must have been! I wouldn’t know whether to run or hold my ground. How embarassing it must be for her!
You always do something crazy like totally break the ice and say “Are you still angry with me for cutting you off?”
Oh, then it WOULD be a very interesting season! Either you would both laugh and things would be good, or she would begin screaming and you wouldn’t be speaking for the rest of the season.
Personally, I’d rather have those two situations than politely pretending neither one of you is completely uncomfortable.
And for some strange reason I only have close friends and bitter enemies. :)
At first I felt like I wanted to explain my side. I thought it might help her to understand that I really am a safe driver. Now, I just figure we can get accustomed to eachother and try to be friends. If it comes up later, we’ll have a foundation to get past it. At least that is how I see it now.
oh no! you know, whether or not she actually thinks you are a good driver is moot point, because you know you are, and you can be confident in your actions on that day. sounds like you’re handling this in a good way. good luck!