I was tending to the front yard, and laid a hose across a public sidewalk to water a tree on the other side.
I wasn’t terribly worried about the hose as a tripping hazard. Most walkers, cyclists, and skateboard enthusiasts are experienced enough to spot hoses and adjust as necessary.
Just then, two inexperienced girls, ages about 4 & 5, came hurtling down the sidewalk on scooters. They hit the hose and went flying, landing on the cracked sidewalk just across the property line in front of the neighbor’s place. The girls started to cry, got up, and ran back to their grandmother, whom they had outpaced.
I came down my steps to accept blame for the hose, but never opened my mouth. Instead, grandmother patiently explained the dangers of cracked sidewalks to the little girls. And because grandmother said it, the girls accepted it, without analyzing their own experience. No one said anything about the tripping hazard of the hose.
Feel like I dodged a bullet, but missed an accountability moment. Fortunately the girls were all right - possibly some scrapes.
No comments:
Post a Comment