Inconsiderate? You decide.

Dear fellow-parent-from-my-kids'-school,

I've known you for a number of years, and we've often chatted in the parking lot while waiting for our kids to be let out of class. You've always been a nice, funny guy who clearly cares about the things that matter, both in your family and in our community. Which makes this rather difficult to write.

It was with great disappointment that my kids came home with news that you had parked your pickup uncomfortably close to my wife's car, then proceeded to smack it with your door before driving off. They watched you do this, and it upset them.

It upsets me, too, because you left a nice-sized scratch in the middle of our door. I suppose I could give you the benefit of the doubt that you were in a rush, that there was a big gust of wind, that you were preoccupied, that you didn't know it was our car (we've only had it for six weeks, so...) Whatever it is, your actions quite noticeably damaged my car.

Because of this, I'm now in the uncomfortable position of deciding whether or not I gently approach you about it - tough, as I risk making you feel uncomfortable and potentially coloring our relationship going forward - or ignoring it and fixing it on my own dime.

As you can imagine, either option sucks. Worse, your not coming forward forces me into the situation of being the bad guy. Which sucks more. Why I should feel uncomfortable over something I did not do is beyond me.

In the end, it's just a car. And it's just a scratch. And I should probably not be making the deal out of this that I am. But if the tables were turned, I'd have been leaving a note on your windshield. Because it's one of those keep-me-up-at-night things my mother always taught me to fix before tuck-in.

And I still have to explain to my kids that the world isn't always as fair as we'd like, that people don't always do the right thing when given the choice. It's a lesson we've been gradually teaching them over the years, of course. But I didn't think it would have to come courtesy of someone I know and trust to look out for them whenever he sees them in the parking lot.

Thanks so much for adding to my large-enough pile. And please don't park anywhere near us again.

Sincerely,

Carmi