What to do now?

[saraha]

Say your neighbor, who you are on freindly terms with asks you to pick her 17yo up at his bus stop on Fri. while she has another kid down in the city at an apptmt. You have done this before w/ no problem. You are late picking him up, and on the way to pick him up, you realize that you don't have his mom's cell number or his. Would have been a smart thing to have but anyway, too late now. So you can't call and say, don't worry, I'm on my way be there in 5. Boy calls mom and says, she isn't here. Mom calls what used to be your cell phone but is now your husbands and leaves a message. Husband calls you and says, hey, got back to my desk and found message, did you pick boy up? By now you have picked boy up, and his mom calls his cell to see if you have picked him up, he says "Yup, ok love you too." Then hangs up and says mom says thanks. You feel TERRIBLE about being late and leaving this kid on the side of the road for what may have been up to 10 minutes. No excuses, just poor planning on my part. So when you get home, you look up his mom's cell phone and call to apologize and leave what is probably a rambling message saying how sorry you are and that you hope she can forgive you. It went straight to voicemail, so you have no idea what she is thinking/feeling at this point.

 

We aren't the call each other up to chat kind, really only call each other with question about girl scouts or to borrow a cup of flour. We are next door neighbors in the country way, so there is a half mile between our houses, so won't see her out on the side walk or getting mail to strike up a conversation. I may run into her in town, but not at any predictable time, just occasionally. May or may not see her at a girl scout leaders meeting next week.

 

What do I do now?

[Parrothead]

Quit worrying about it. A 17-year old should be able to stand on the side of the road for 10 minutes without a problem. He should consider himself lucky that he didn't have to walk.

[QueenCat]

Nothing beyond "I'm sorry I was late" is necessary.

[Freckles]

Nothing. You picked him up. You apologized. My neighbor completely forgot to pick up my kids one day, and a different neighbor picked them up when she saw them walking home. Was I upset...yes. Did I get over it... yes Things happen. Please don't beat yourself up.

[zoobie]

He's 17? After apologizing to him and her, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Embassy]

I don't think it is a big deal. This is a 17 year old, right? Why would a 17 year old need to be picked up anyway?

[saraha]

I don't think it is a big deal. This is a 17 year old, right? Why would a 17 year old need to be picked up anyway?

 

We have open enrollment in our county and he goes to school outside of our district. They will bus a kid to the school district line. In this case it is a random country road, no houses, no businesses, just an intersection where the bus picks him up and drops him off everyday. It is actually about 9 miles from our houses.

I'm glad everyone is saying it is no big deal. I feel terrible.

[bettyandbob]

I would chill out. I would call mom at home later tonight and say "We should update each other's contact info, so we can get a hold of another again." Then give her my new cell number.

[J-rap]

He's 17 and a boy. (I'd get a tad more nervous about a girl being left alone on a road in the middle of nowhere.) You apologized very kindly and sincerely, and I don't think you need to do anything else. Next time you happen to run into her, you can always say "I'm really sorry, again, for being late the other day!" And then leave it at that.

[texasmama]

You did what is polite in apologizing. Nothing more is needed. It is a good life skill for a 17 year old boy to figure out what to do when sitting at the side of the road for a few minutes. I have a 17 year old girl and would not be upset by the scenario you describe.

[Trish]

Quit worrying about it. A 17-year old should be able to stand on the side of the road for 10 minutes without a problem. He should consider himself lucky that he didn't have to walk.

:iagree: Ten minutes isn't inordinately late, especially for a kid of that age. If either of them were THAT concerned, by gosh, they'll give you a cell phone number next time. In the pre cell phone era this wouldn't even have caused a stir of any kind.

[Jean in Newcastle]

There is no problem to apologize for or worry about. It didn't hurt a 17 year old to wait for 10 minutes esp. since you did come and pick him up.

[KungFuPanda]

Let it go. Your guilt and profuse apology would be appropriate if he was 7. At 17 he should just be grateful he didn't have to walk. 10 minutes is nothing. He was probably texting his friends.

[Lisa R.]

Actually, I think part of the issue here is the presence of cell phones. Twenty years or more ago when we waiting for an adult to pick us up, we agreed upon a time beforehand and simply waiting until the driver showed up. If the driver was late, we just stood/sat there and waited a little longer. Even if a pay phone was near, calling was futile since the driver didn't possess a phone.

 

Nowadays, when someone is even a few minutes late, waiting person calls driver right away. "Where are you? Are you coming?" "Yes. Don't worry. I'll be there in five minutes." IMO, this is an *unnecessary* call.

 

Just wait. A few minutes. It's okay. No need to panic. No need to call.

 

OP, you're fine. Don't worry. In the future I'd get contact info as people expect this sort of thing these days. Otherwise, simply move on. You were nice to do this favor in the first place.

[Melissa in Australia]

Actually, I think part of the issue here is the presence of cell phones. Twenty years or more ago when we waiting for an adult to pick us up, we agreed upon a time beforehand and simply waiting until the driver showed up. If the driver was late, we just stood/sat there and waited a little longer. Even if a pay phone was near, calling was futile since the driver didn't possess a phone.

 

Nowadays, when someone is even a few minutes late, waiting person calls driver right away. "Where are you? Are you coming?" "Yes. Don't worry. I'll be there in five minutes." IMO, this is an *unnecessary* call.

 

Just wait. A few minutes. It's okay. No need to panic. No need to call.

 

OP, you're fine. Don't worry. In the future I'd get contact info as people expect this sort of thing these days. Otherwise, simply move on. You were nice to do this favor in the first place.

:iagree:

[Melissa in Australia]

^{My 17 year old takes public transport to TAFE 4 days a week. The bus is between 5 to 20 minutes late EVERY DAY. And the spot that ds17 gets picked up from is the first stop. 17 year olds can wait no problems.}

[catz]

Jeez, I wouldn't feel bad at all after an apology and an exchange of new cell numbers! All is well that ends well. The only way I'd really feel bad is if this were a paid job.

[saraha]

Thanks everybody. You're right though, it is different with cell phones now. When I was a kid, my mom would sometimes be late picking me up from something, and we would just wait. Sometimes another mom would hang around until the other kid was picked up so they weren't left alone. With phones now, I guess everyone is used to constant contact, and now there could be a bit of panic if you can't reach someone.

 

She called me this morning to tell me that it was fine, no big deal, thanks for picking him up. I am so relieved. I guess I was also not sure if she was one of those mom's with a "snowflake" that would be livid he was left out there. Turns out it was all fine.

[beaners]

Mom calls what used to be your cell phone but is now your husbands and leaves a message.

 

 

Sorry, I couldn't help but LOL at this. ;) I bet you never thought those phones would give you this much trouble!

 

I'd say no harm, no foul. But then, I'm usually the one that's late. :leaving:

[NotSoObvious]

Yeah, no big deal. I don't ever remember being picked up from anywhere at 17. And I didn't have a cell phone!

[saraha]

 

Sorry, I couldn't help but LOL at this. ;) I bet you never thought those phones would give you this much trouble!

 

I'd say no harm, no foul. But then, I'm usually the one that's late. :leaving:

 

Yes, I didn't realize what a pain that was going to be. I really just need to memorize phone numbers old school style instead of relying on a phone!