A Mom to Everyone

I've always had something of a maternal instinct. But there is something deeper now that I am a mom that I feel a need to step in and mother when the actual mother can't be there. Monday morning, after dropping Teagan off at school and heading to Christy's to pick her up, I witnessed a car accident. A guy on his way to work hit a teenager on her way to school. It could have been much worse. There was no blood, no evidence of broken bones. The driver of the pick up got out immediately. I pulled over and dialed 911 right away. I was directly behind the accident. While on the phone with 911, I went up to the small sedan that had been hit. The girl was on the phone. I told her I was on the phone with 911 and I needed to know if she was hurt. She said her knee hurt and her side hurt- really bad. I gave the 911 dispatch person the information, they got my personal info, and I followed their advise to have her stay in the car. She was on the phone with someone, telling them she had just been in a bad accident. She held it together as she said that she hurt her knee, it was bad... and then she broke down when she said the words... "And I can't reach my mom." My heart cracked open and for a few minutes, she became mine. I told her I would stay with her until the police and fire department arrived. I rubbed her back and chatted with her. Her hands were shaking- I offered to hold her hand and she accepted and looked at me. She was 18 but in that look, as her anxiety and fear and shock rose because she couldn't reach her mom, she was a child, a small child, lost, alone, scared. The police arrived and I told the officer who I was and that I was staying with her until the fire dept arrived- the officer was all for it. The fire department arrived and 2 firefighters immediately began to attend to her and the car. I told the firefighter what I knew and said goodbye to her. I spoke to the officer and told him what I had witnessed. I got in my car and drove away. And all morning, I am thinking of this girl and wondering if she- and her mom- are ok. I've been on the scene of accidents before and not had them stay with me exactly like this one. All because she couldn't reach her mom- and that was what had her over the edge, that was when she fell apart. She needed her mom and her mom didn't answer the phone. I'm glad that I was in that place at that time and that I could step in and try to mother her a little bit. I hope that if my child is ever in a position to need another mother, there will be someone like me there to help them, comfort them, and protect them.