A little bit of time travel

I got out of the house today morning and had just turned the corner when I saw this young lady get on her bike and on her way. Still smiling to myself and selecting the music for the day, on my ipod, I was walking along in my own world when I saw in the distance, a little gal on her bike, looking very distressed. She was calling for the young lady , who was soon going to be just a dot on the yonder horizon. As I approached the gal , I could make out the lil tears that would soon start on their way. I asked the lil gal if she was alright. "No," was the answer. "Do you need help?"
"Yes," said the lil gal. I helped her get back on the bike, made sure she could reach the pedals and asked her if she was alright then. Was relieved when she replied in the affirmative and soon we were both on our respective ways.
That got me thinking, had it been my mom, she would have not been on a bike in the first place and would not have raced ahead of me in the second place. But then, back when I was the little gal's age, there's no way in heck , I'd have talked to a stranger and accepted help. Really can't say who was better, my mom then or the young lady today. I did not dwell too long on that question as I was reminded of another incident when I was that small. This was in Islamabad. School was some distance away from our place and despite the fact that we had walked the distance on a few occasions, a school bus ferried us back and forth everyday. This particular day, however, I'd woken up late ( never been a morning person) and missed the bus. Dad could have dropped me to school but then , he has never been in favor of doing so. So what does Ms Baggins decide? She decided , she'll walk......and walk she did. I got to school , but not in time. The assembly had started and was about to get over. Walked over to my teacher and told her how I'd missed the bus and then walked to school. What do you know! She wasn't angry , as I was expecting her to be. Instead she was pleased I was brave enough to walk the distance on my own. This fact was announced in the assembly and the kids were asked to clap for Ms baggins.
A little about why my teacher could have thought me to be brave. I guess, It is not expected of 5 yr olds to be venturing too much away from their homes on their own. And in the minds of the Indian expat community in Islamabad, it was not exactly an idyllic situation. All though it was not a full out hostile scenario as it is today, there were isolated incidents that kept one fearful at worst and careful at best.
So, a day that started on a nice note with a little bit of meandering down memory lanes, thrown in . Ms baggins can only ask for it to end well too.