I’ve always prided myself at being a brave person and generally doing the right thing. An event last week left me pondering about what exactly the right thing is.

We were at a large bank getting some cash out when 2 guys walked in. By “we”, I mean myself, my 2 little girls, a good friend of mine and her daughter. The 2 guys looked non-threatening, one of them was carrying a small courier bag. One of the guys said to the other “I take this door you take the other”. This raised the hair on the back of my neck as I looked at where my 2 girls and my friends daughter were and pictured a bank holdup. Looking around I saw no security guards and no other children around. A second glance at the guys showed that they were lining up to get to a teller, no doubt the comment was directed at getting through the lunch time bank crowd as quick as possible. Nonetheless, I couldn’t wait to get out of the bank with all 3 girls. Fortunately, my friend was done and we walked out almost immediately.

It felt like a cowardly thing to do… it still kind of does. At the same time cold logic tells me my instinct at the time was right, get the 3 girls out of there. Their safety is my first and main responsibility. Had I truly felt that the guys were really a threat I had the option to call the emergency number and warn the police.

We were around the area for a bit longer and heard no sirens, so the guys were really just there on an errand. Poor choice of words on their part.

This little event somehow is stuck in my mind since it gave me a taste for how I would re-act in such a situation. I have mixed feelings about it… but there you go, these are the mothering years of my life.