“WHERE’S the BABY?”


I was with my class of 20 students, five parent helpers and a baby in a stroller on a science field trip to a local reserve in the south Waikato. We were all busy with our various activities when a piercing scream and then another shattered the peace and calm. One of the boys ran into me and yelled, “Wasps! Wasps! They’re attacking us!” His terror-filled eyes and words implored me to do something. 
I yelled, “Back to the cars!” We were all getting stung multiple times. 
Terrified, we ran for our lives and into the safety of the cars where the parents were stripping clothes off the children and swatting the few wasps that had stuck to their clothing. 
The baby! Where’s the baby? 
I ran back into the bush to search the area where we were initially stung. Still plenty of wasps but no baby. Back to the cars and running between each one I attempted to count students and parents, still frantically searching. 
Wild wasps were now attacking our picnic blankets, clipboards and food. One last car to search. One baby found, safe, quiet and calm. The relief! 
Abandoning our gear we drove back to school in silence. Four students suffered asthma attacks and we all received multiple stings but no serious allergic reactions. The students and parents were very brave considering the ordeal they had been through. 
Being kind can be a risky business. Do it anyway.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Your Face

Sometimes being kind doesn’t seem to work and when this happens it can be confusing and hurtful. I recall such a time… Driving on a main arterial route in Hamilton I noticed ahead of me a man pushing his car. I pulled my car over to the side of the road and ran over to help. Placing my hands on the boot I pushed too. The car was on a slight uphill incline, so my help was surely going to make a difference.  You know that sense you have when something isn’t quite right with the world. Well, unexpectedly he curtly said “Get your hands off my car!” Startled, I  replied. “Excuse me?” Making sure I heard correctly he said in a more forceful voice. “I told you once. I don’t want your help. Go away!”  I backed away, bewildered. I couldn’t understand why he wanted to push his car by himself. I just wanted to do the right thing. To help him. POINTS to PONDER Sometimes our desire to help isn’t wanted or appreciated. Get over yourself if this happens.  We do not know what...
Read more

SHARING KINDNESS with the WORLD

Since starting my kindness blog in March 2023 and sending it firstly to family and friends in New Zealand, today, readers in 75 countries have read my blog. I continue to write what I think people need, not what they necessarily want.  Starting with my own country, the list begins…New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Taiwan, China, Nepal, Russia, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Turkey, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Greece, Portugal, Lithuania, Serbia, Albania, Uzbekistan, Kryrgyzstan, Czechia, Bosnia/Hertzegovina, Hungary, Germany, France, Netherlands, Poland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Armenia, Romania, Croatia, Slovakia, United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, USA, Jamaica, Mexico, Honduras, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Equador, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Iraq, UAE, Egypt, Iran, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Rwanda, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa....
Read more

PLAYING with FLOWERS

Have you noticed how flower colours never clash? What about the intricate repeated patterns? Not to mention the divine smells! Talk about sensory overload…  Over the past two years and on a personal note, Ange (Leef Floral design Raglan) created beautiful wedding anniversary bouquets for Val and I. They were made with loads of love and considerable skill. She personally delivered them to our restaurant table and we couldn’t help but note a ripple of smiles and admiring glances coming towards us. I remember asking Ange a few years ago, how she consistently achieves such beauty in her work. Her delightful reply was, “I just play with flowers.” Wow. What a metaphor for life with all its ups and downs. She just keeps things simple and she knows what is important to her… ‘Community, joy, love, empathy and my amazing family and friends’. In a Raglan Chronicle article, (Talking About Mental Health with Ruby Gibbs, August 24, 2023) Ange commented ‘she believes that as you get older, life g...
Read more