‘My daughter was struggling with surgery when a young Marine reached out. ‘Pip has touched my life.’ He sent a package in the mail.’: Special needs mom thanks stranger for act of kindness

“Many years ago, when my daughter Pip was either struggling with an upcoming surgery or I was overwhelmed with everything going on with her, a young US Marine reached out to us.

He told me how Pip had touched his life and he had a Happy Soul Project logo in his helmet. Then, he graciously sent some Marine goodies, including this hat.

To this day, this hat is constantly fought over and hangs proudly in my oldest son’s bedroom. It continually sparks the conversation that his little sister has amazingly gathered this community of people, we like to call #PipsArmy.

This has made us feel lifted up in times of need, and has helped our nonprofit projects soar. Getting a picture of a bunch of US Marines holding up a sign for my daughter made me feel like I’ve borrowed the strength of others from all over the world.

Anyways, a few days ago my youngest (kindergartner), some might say on the shy side, had to be the ‘Leader of the Day.’ And I could tell he was kind of freaked out about it, no matter what I said to boost him up.

It wasn’t until both my sons disappeared upstairs, my little Theo came down more confident than I’ve ever seen him.

Not only did he kill it as Leader, he busted out with nailing a Catholic prayer on his own. And then he kind of winked at me, cause we ain’t Catholic, and shot me a charming little grin.

In this hat. That is MAGIC. All because a young Marine. From way across the seas. Stumbled upon us. And somehow, someway, something connected. And he took a chance. Reached out. Sent this hat.

And he has no idea the magic it’s brought my kids since. So, thank you, Marine. We are proud of you in so many ways.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Tara McCallan. You can follow their journey on Instagram, Facebook, and her blog. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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