115. Bus Walk

This dad’s Okay thing is being there for his daughter’s walks to the school bus stop.

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

INTRO MUSIC 

 I’m Nora McInerny, and it’s going to be okay.

We made this show so you’d have the opposite of a doom scroll to wake up to, and even though I know that some of you listen to them at other times of the day — and that’s okay! that’s your choice! — this feels like a morning message, especially for anyone who has a hard time walking away from their work at the end of the day, the end of the shift…for anyone who CAN leave, but sometimes doesn’t because, ugh, there’s just more to do and you feel like you COULD get a head start on tomorrow if you just take up more of today.

This is an email from a listener named Greg.

EMAIL WHOOSH

Okay Listener: I work a midshift so I get off work right about when my daughter needs to leave to go to the bus stop for school.  My job basically equates to shift work, with a bit of a twist.  I work on aircraft with the air force (I’m retired Navy so I’m a civilian contractor now) so the job is complicated, but that doesn’t mean I can’t leave when my shift is over.  So I make it a point to leave in time to get home and walk her to the bus. I know, in the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal, but you can hear the disappointment in her voice if I call and tell her I won’t be able to make it in time, but to have a good anyway.  When I get home, the excitement from her and the dogs (who are absolutely beside themselves, wiggling and bringing me toys and just making a big spectacle of it every day) is enough to turn any bad day into an instant good day.  And a reminder, that everything is going to be ok…

Being a grown-up is pretty dumb sometimes, and I say that as a grown-up who can be pretty dumb. A person who can get so caught up in my inbox or my to-do list that I do forget that life is not just a series of tasks to complete, and that something that feels small to me might be HUGE to someone else, especially if that person is little…and I am counting dogs as people in this equation.

Greg’s okay thing is such a great reminder for any of us who CAN make it to the bus stop — literal or metaphorical – to clock out and make it to the bus stop. Call someone right now — or send them a text or a voice memo — and tell them to have a good day, or that you’re thinking of them. Stop to pet the next dog that crosses your path as long as their owner says it’s okay. Say hello and hold the door for someone. Whatever the bus stop is for you today, try to get to it. 

OUTRO MUSIC

CREDITS