I haven't blogged in awhile and for that matter haven't worked much in awhile.  Today was one of the rare occassions that I actually did work and it was the very first time that all those safety things they mentioned in training became a reality. 

I'm sure all you guys probably have stories to tell as well about scary situations that have poppped up on your route.  I'm taking the time to share my story today, because I'm hoping it will serve as a reminder to every single one of us.

I was about 3/4 of the way finished with my route.  I pulled into the second to the last neighborhood, a small, modest community filled with condos and small homes.  Some of them are very, very close together and the streets are filled with cars parked along the street.  The yards are small and there are kids throughout the neighborhood. 

I made a right hand turn into a very small court and as I approached about the third mailbox I stopped at the box to shuffle through a handful of mail before placing the bunch into the box.  It was VERY hot today and I had all the windows down and that noisy fan blowing on me full blast.  Somehow at that moment I heard the faint sound of a child's voice but I saw no children in the immediate area.  Any other time and I probably wouldn't have given it a second thought, especially in that neighborhood because I could have easily heard a child playing in their backyard.  For some reason, perhaps a memory of the stories told in training class, I refused to move until I looked with a little more determination.  It was hot and I really wanted to get back to the cool air conditioning in the office as quickly as possible.  Still, I sat there sweating and looking.  Still nothing.  Then in a second I saw it.  About 2 inches above the front of the truck (from my view) there was sandy blonde hair!  Oh my God.  My jaw dropped to the floor.  I could hardly see him, only a little bit of the top of his head.  I couldn't believe how close he was to the front of the truck.  I felt the inside of me go ice cold.  It was extremely scary to think how easily things could have played out differently. 

The kid will never know just how lucky he was that somebody told me a story in training that scared the life out of me.  The thought of running over an innocent child just sends shivers down my spine and I absolutely NEVER thought it could happen to me or as easily as it almost did.

I'm certainly not writing this blog as evidence of any heroic actions on my part, quite the contrary.  I believe that the only way that child was safe today was that a higher power intervened.  I had absolutely nothing to do with it.  I just hope that you guys will remember this story when you're out on your route and take EXTRA precautions at every single box, especially while the kids are out of school for the summer.

Stay Safe.