“My heart stopped. It took the firefighters an unreasonably long to arrive (light years in mom panic mode). My son’s hairdresser came racing to the scene. And then there was a random mom who stopped and stayed with me. My husband made it in record time across town.”
‘My son got trapped. The car mysteriously locked. He was strapped into a car seat in 100-degree heat, screaming hysterically. I paced in place. The only way to free him was to break a window.’
‘The ambulance will be here soon. Want me to go with you?’ He was a stranger, all alone, with a bloody gash above his eyes. His friends were nowhere to be found. ‘Well, if you don’t mind.’
“‘I’ll pretend we’re dating.’ When the ambulance got there, the EMT suggested I get his number. ‘He’s cute!’ I hadn’t gotten a good look at him under all the blood and sweat. Maybe she was on to something. As they wiped away the blood, I could see his sparkling eyes.”
‘Her best friend lost her husband in Afghanistan. His friends would all get black coffee. He always got a big pink smoothie with whipped cream on it. Then, something beautiful happened.’
“One of our favorite regulars walked in to order her usual. I noticed it was taking her a little longer to order, so I glanced over and saw she was crying. The employee on the register was choked up as well, and handed me this post card.”
‘I was almost a school shooter. I had 2 locations mapped out. The bullying became unbearable. But 2 things stopped me, and altered the course of my life.’
“Mike took me in that night, letting me sleep in his room against his parents’ wishes, sneaking me leftovers from dinner. He helped me wash my clothes and let me take a shower. I hadn’t shared my feelings with anyone, but someone was watching.”
‘My dad told us, ‘Make someone’s day better.’ I watched him take his last breath. ‘Just because he couldn’t receive my kidney, doesn’t mean somebody else shouldn’t.’ This is for you, dad.’
“I was nervous and excited the morning of the surgery. This was finally happening! We could feel my dad’s presence in the room. We each donated to a stranger, for him.”
‘I noticed an elderly woman sitting alone. My exact thoughts were, ‘Dang, I’d hate to have to eat alone’. I walked over to her and asked if I could sit with her.’
“She told me she lost her husband and that tomorrow would have been their 60th anniversary.”
‘This mother was panicking. Her infant started wailing, disturbing sleeping passengers. You could see panic written all over her face. A lady even stood up to give her tips.’
“Then, the best thing happened. One of the crew members was an expert father. Within minutes in his arms, the baby was sleeping soundly. Ladies, a good husband is a good father. I had never seen anything more beautiful than this.”
‘If you’re not busy on Monday, you can come see me in the hospital?’ We left our info with this stranger, our waiter. He showed up for 6 hours, talking and calming us down.’
“He stood in that ICU waiting for Tommy to open his eyes so he could fulfill his promise to an 8-year-old boy he did not know. THANK YOU IS NOT ENOUGH.”
‘The phone rang. ‘Heather, he was kite-surfing. They don’t know what happened. He’s dead.’ I slumped slowly to the floor, but my voice was calm. I was in denial.’
“I felt the seat next to me sink down. Opening my eyes, I saw a beautiful black woman elegantly dressed in a long skirt and pretty blouse. She simply opened her arms and held me, rocking back and forth. ‘It’s going to be okay. Poor baby. I know, I’m here,’ she said, holding me tight.”
‘I would like to purchase something to eat, but all I have is $5.’ This gentleman was wearing a backpack and holding a $5 bill. He looks to be homeless. I took this picture for a few reasons.’
“He asks about a few items on the menu, but shortly discovers he may need more than $5. The lady begins to offer suggestions to help him. As she’s asking him what he wants to drink, he’s thinking about it, and then the lady says something I’ll never forget.”
