I knew Ben Carson was coming to town and wanted to hear him
speak. I have a lot of respect for the
man; he’s an overcomer and I’m greatly inspired by his story of boy living in poverty to becoming one of the top neurosurgeons in the nation so I made it a
priority. It was 6:30pm. I woke my 3 month-old baby Canyon from his late, late afternoon nap
and started the drive into Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix
Convention Center
“Cash only,” he said.
That
morning I had given the last of my cash to my kids for lunch money.
“There is an ATM over on Third St.,” he
said.
I backed my large SUV into reverse
and slowly moved out of the parking garage, careful not to hit the line of cars
already forming behind me. I wasn’t sure which
way to go when I say another parking garage advertising $5 to park. I knew I had enough change at the bottom of
my purse so I pulled into the lane. The
cashier patiently waited as I grabbed change from my purse and the glove
compartment of the car. I was like a squirrel
looking for acorns at this point, searching under the floor mats and in any nook
and cranny I could find. I produced a handful
of coins, mostly pennies. The cashier
patiently counted out my money. I knew I
was short but hoped if I didn’t say anything she might come up with a different
amount. In the mean time, my baby was
starting to fuss. I’d already been in the car for over ½ an hour.
“You only have $3.85,” the clerk
said, jolting me out of my stressed state of mind.
I would blame my irrational behavior on hormones, but I’m a horrible liar. Truth is I was frustrated. For
some reason, I felt like I might cry and just like that, I was crying in this
sort of pity cry. Great! I felt sorry for my self.
“I
don’t mean to cry,” I said to the clerk.
“but I have a new baby in the car, I don’t know where an ATM is and I’m
late to hear Dr. Carson speak.” She peered inside the back window and looked at my fussy baby. Her face
turned compassionate and she motioned toward the garage.
“Just go on in, it’s all good.”
I never intended asking her for a favor and quite
honestly felt like a great big loser, but I took her kind gesture and thanked
her profusely as I rolled up the window.
I drive a large SUV and there was a part of me that wasn’t even certain
my car would fit, but I drove down into that parking garage and tears swelled
in my eyes even more than before. Part of it was my pride as I knew I'd taken advantage of the clerk. Seriously, she was just a college student and
because of my pity party which was now at the price tag of a indebted whopping $1.15 she’d broken some sort of parking attendant "code of
conduct". This whole night was turning out to be a giant mistake. Still, I found a parking spot and turned off
the car. Now what? My baby was crying and I still didn’t know
where I was going. It was dark outside
but even darker in the belly of the parking garage. I opened my door as two men
walked by. I mustered up my courage and
grabbed the only weapon I had; my diaper bag.
Why hadn’t I invited anyone to come with me? Coming alone was not smart. I walked around to the other side of the car
and opened the back door. Inside, my
darling baby had stopped crying and was curiously watching me. His innocent expression filled me with such
love. All he wanted was me. Suddenly, I didn’t feel alone. I had Canyon.
I was so overcome with gratitude for his companionship I started crying
all over again.
“Come here little guy,” I said as I took him into my arms. “I’m so glad you’re here,” and I hugged his
little body into mine.
His familiar
smell, the gentle way his hands reached into my hair and the closeness to which
I held him was so comforting. I
literally cried on his tiny shoulder and thanked him for being there with me. Once I started feeling better I positioned
him into my baby Bjorn and took the stairs out of the parking garage onto the
city streets of Phoenix
“Do you know where the convention center is?” I asked after I'd answered his questions of the baby's age and name.
“Sure, I was walking there to see Dr.
Carson,” he said.
So, we walked together
as the light rail whizzed past us. I
thanked him as I entered the over-sized convention room holding 12,000plus people.
The energy was amazing and immediately all
the efforts I’d made to attend were worth it.
Dr. Carson’s heartfelt speech was beautiful. His speech lasted another 25 minutes when he
ended with a few Q&A’s. The crowd
started to disperse, but I was just getting started. Are you kidding? Getting me downtown was like getting a race
boat off the dock and into the water just to let it idle. I had so much more to offer than turning
around and driving back home. I was
energized. While most people were
leaving, I noticed a small line forming near the stage. Was it possible to meet Dr. Carson? I had to find out.
I’m not sure how but many in the crowd of
1,000 people or so made way so the baby and I could be near the front and
suddenly Ms. Carson reached over to me so she could see the baby.
“He’s adorable,” she said. “I miss my grand kids,” and she reached in to hug on my little boy. I asked for a
photo and I kissed her on the cheek. I
literally felt a transfer of energy.
Candy Carson is absolutely beautiful inside and out and I could feel her
vivacity immensely. I could barely
believe what had happened and finally turned to head back to the parking
garage. The baby slept the entire ride home, making the journey home much less
eventful then my earlier experience.
My
baby had been my golden ticket to an incredible experience. Because of him I'd been able to park, find the convention center and meet Candy Carson but most important was when he offered me his companionship when I felt all alone. He is my little person. He needs me and I need him. He’s coming everywhere with me forever and
I’ve already told him he’s not allowed to ever grow up.
We’ll see if he follows that little rule or
not.