White Shirts and Snack Deliveries

Yaakov’s Story  as told to Sara Klarberg

I was running late again. But that’s not at all unusual in my life. I have ADHD, and running on time is just not in my skill set. Besides, there’s something very exciting about seeing how much I could get done in the final 60 seconds before carpool comes.

My mother, though, is the most on-time person I know. She’s not just on time. She’s early to everything. Yes, we are the family that shows up to a simcha at the time the invitation says, when only the photographer is there, because my mother doesn’t want to be late.

So this morning was playing out like most other days. My minyan carpool would be there at 7:20. It was 7:16. I wasn’t dressed, and I was reading the back of a book I noticed on the counter.

“Hurry up!” my mother nudged me again. “You are going to miss carpool, and I’m not driving you.”

Somehow in the next 4 minutes, I managed to get clothing and sneakers on (I could tie them in the car), water bottle into my knapsack, and get to the door. 

That’s when I realized I had no snack or lunch packed. It was also the same minute that the van pulled up. 

And, as I got into the van, I saw Chesky, in his white shirt, all ready for the siyum in school.Right! The siyum! I had totally forgotten about that!

As soon as I got to school, I called home because I needed a white shirt… which also meant 
I could ask for food.

Now, I don’t recommend doing this very often. (My mother was not happy!) But, I did get my shirt delivered and a bag of snacks and lunch.

I hope one day very soon I’ll have a plan for my mornings. (If you have any tips for me, let me know!) But for now, I do realize that Hashem had a special plan for me. Because I forgot the shirt, I also got food! 

So Thank You Hashem for the food so I didn’t starve all day! And, I did, of course, thank my mother too. I even told her I would try to get ready faster the next day. (I hope!)  

What I learned:

Sometimes Hashem sends His love even while something difficult is happening. If you look carefully you can often find it!