“It was roughly 3 years after our 17-month-old son Bennett died. I stood there in shock in the midst of chasing my 1-year old toddler around in the August heat. Was this how people now saw me? Would this be how I would be introduced going forward? ‘Oh, hi, I’m Sheri, nice to meet you. My mom died when I was 16, my son died 5 years ago, oh and my dad just passed, so I guess that leaves me an adult orphan. Nice to meet you.’”
‘She’s the one who lost her toddler in a car accident. Awful, just terrible.’ That comment was made at a wedding.’: Mom incredibly tired of grief ‘defining’ her, learns she is ‘worth’ time for ‘self care’
‘I feel like I’m crumbling. Then I stopped for coffee and got this reminder from the barista.’: Stranger’s act of kindness for overwhelmed mom reminds her there are helping hands ‘when we need it the most’
“Yesterday, I failed as a mom. I was late picking the kids up from school, causing my child to cry. Instead of comforting her, I scolded her. I ended the evening making my oldest burst into tears at dinner. I then picked a fight with my husband. This morning, I stopped for coffee before taking my minivan to get fixed, and got this reminder from the barista.”
‘How much is the yarn?’ She replied, ‘It’s 5 dollars. My grandma started a project, but never finished. She passed away.’: Stranger’s act of kindness carrying on a grandmother’s legacy brings granddaughter to tears
“She said, ‘I’m so sorry for your loss,’ and came home with the bag. At home, she opened the bag, beneath the yarn, to see a granny square blanket that had been started. Mom finished the blanket and drove to the house where the garage sale was. The granddaughter was in tears and hugged her.”
‘I wrote a stranger. ‘Help me. I’m scared. Please. I need to understand my daughter.’ I begged her to give me the secret. ‘Will we be okay?’ Real-life ‘princess’ helps ease mother’s fears over daughter’s autism diagnosis
“I was desperate to connect with anyone who could say, ‘I get it,’ instead of the ‘I can’t imagines’ that were being hurled my way. And then I stumbled upon a beauty queen.”
‘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.’
“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.”
‘Are you okay? Let me see your face.’ He was all alone, his head in his hands. I saw blood. ‘I don’t mind going to the ER with you.’ After some hesitation, he shook his head.’ Woman finds man of her dreams in ‘random chance meeting’
“The EMT arrived. ‘You don’t know him, do you?’ I felt totally called out! ‘Well, he’s cute. Maybe you’ll get his number.’ As we chatted, his deep dimples began to show. Once I knew he’d be okay, I checked him out a little more. ‘Okay, he looks kinda tall lying on that stretcher.’ I thought I was helping a stranger. Turns out I was setting myself up to fall deeply in love with the man of my dreams.”
‘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.”
‘In 1997, at the lowest point in my life, I snapped and bought a gun. I was almost a school shooter.’: Man overcomes abusive childhood, bullying, says ‘kindness’ stopped him from doing ‘the worst thing imaginable’
“When you’ve been told you’re ‘worthless’ enough times, you’ll believe it. I had no home and often slept outdoors. The isolation and bullying became unbearable. I wanted to feel an emotion other than pain. I wanted to feel, for once, like I was in control. If I’d possessed a rifle, I would have been a killer. If I’d known love, I would have never wanted a rifle.”
‘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.”
