the particular kindness of reverse parking

I don’t know how to reverse park.

The work carpark is insane and massively crowded. My dad thinks my parking and reversing out is atrocious, so he doesn’t let me drive there by myself. Instead he made an effort every week to drive all the way up and take me home after work. Even though I drive back, he always has to sit at the front and lecture me about other cars/curbs/traffic lights/turns etc.

We recently got another car, a nice shiny right-out-of-the-manufacturer’s one. So Mum suggested that Dad should follow me in his new car while I drive to work and check that my parking is all okay before he drove back.

When we’d arrived, my car was pretty much out of petrol, so Dad said he’d fill it up for me, since he brought the extra key.

After work, I went back to the carpark, but had trouble finding the car because I couldn’t see its rear bumper along the rows. Then I realized it was parked in reverse.

For some reason, this simple gesture made me really happy.

My dad shows kindness in odd ways.