1. Today, when I went to pick up my daughter from preschool, she was sitting on the ground in the corner of the after-care area with three blind students. All of them had smiles on their faces. The after-care instructor told me my daughter has been spending time with these three students every afternoon this week, answering questions and explaining to them in vivid detail what different objects, people and animals look like.
2. Today at 1 a.m., my grandma, who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, got up, got into my dad’s car and drove off. We contacted the police. Before the police could find her, two college kids pulled into our driveway with my grandma. One was driving my dad’s car and the other was following in their car. They said they overheard her crying about being lost at an empty gas station 10 miles away. My grandma couldn’t remember our address, but gave the kids her first and last name. They looked her up online, found our address and drove her home.
3. Today, my dad turned 91. He barely has enough strength to speak. But every time my mom, who’s 84, walks into the room to check on him, he says, “Hello, beautiful.”
4. Today, when she woke up from a six-month coma, she kissed me and said, “Thank you for being here, telling me those beautiful stories and never giving up on me. And yes, I will marry you.”
5. Today, my grandpa keeps an old candid photo on his nightstand of my grandma and him laughing together at some party in the 1960’s. My grandma passed away from cancer in 1999 when I was seven. This evening when I was at his house, my grandpa caught me staring at the photo. He walked up, hugged me from behind and said, “Remember, just because something doesn’t last forever, it doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth your while.”
6. Today, a week after I donated three bags of clothes to a local homeless shelter, I saw a homeless woman sitting on a park bench wearing a tie-dyed shirt I made when I was a teenager. I walked by her and said, “I love your shirt!” She smiled and said, “Thank you! I really do, too!”
7. Today, I sat down with my two daughters, ages four and six, to explain to them that we have to move out of our four-bedroom house and into a two-bedroom apartment until I can find another job. My daughters looked at each other for a moment and then my youngest daughter turned to me and asked, “Are we all moving into the apartment together?” I replied, “Yes.” She said, “Oh, so no big deal then!”
8. Today is the 14th day in a row that my nursing home patient’s grandson has come to visit her. Two weeks ago, I told him that the only time I see his grandmother smile all week is when he visits her on Sunday mornings.
9. Today, a man came in to apply for a job at my restaurant. He seemed charismatic, kind, knowledgeable and friendly. Later, when I went to call him to extend a job offer, I noticed he had written “ask for me” under his number. The number belongs to a homeless shelter, but I’m going to hire him anyway.
10. Today, I found out that my mom and dad have been working second jobs at night so they can continue to financially assist my twin sister and me who are both sophomores in college. My dad said, “You two will be the first in our family’s history to receive college diplomas, so working two jobs is nothing! If I had to, I’d work three jobs to make sure I see you two graduate.”
11. Today, I met the prettiest woman on a plane. Assuming I wouldn’t see her again after we made our connections, I told her how pretty I thought she was. She gave me the most sincere smile and said, “Nobody has said that to me in 10 years.” It turns out we’re both in our mid-30’s, never married, no kids and we live about five miles away from each other. We have a date set for next Saturday after we return home.
12. Today, my mom received the surgery she needed to remove a malignant tumor. My family has been struggling without medical insurance since my dad lost his job last year. My sister and I have been openly discussing my mom’s medical dilemma on Facebook. Last week, a friend of a friend, who’s a veteran cancer treatment surgeon who owns his own practice, saw our comments on Facebook and volunteered to help my mother for free.
13. Today, as I was sleeping, I woke up to my daughter calling my name. I was sleeping in a chair in her hospital room. I opened my eyes to her beautiful smile. My daughter has been in a coma for 98 days.
14. Today, the homeless man who used to sleep near my condo showed up at my door wearing the business suit I gave him nearly 10 years ago. He said, “I have a home, a job and a family now. 10 years ago, I wore this business suit to all of my job interviews. Thank you.”
15. Today, when I opened my store at 5 a.m., there was an envelope sitting on the floor by the door. In the envelope was $600 and a note that said, “Five years ago, I broke into your store at night and stole $300 worth of food. I’m sorry. I was desperate. Here’s the money with 100% interest.” Interestingly, I never reported the incident to the police because I assumed that whoever stole the food really needed it.
All stories from makemethink.com
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