First, thanks to all of you who left such warm and caring comments on my anniversary post. It was, I realize, an intense experience to write and to read and I truly appreciate you seeing it through to the end.
(I wish the message of my post had reached the person who plowed into a group of middle school kids and their teacher today.)
I realized this morning that the one thing I had failed to do in that post was to mention how amazing the kindnesses of strangers were that day.
Because I rode the ambulance to the hospital, I had no way of getting home, or so I thought. We had lived here for some time but in typical Southern California fashion had not gotten to know many of the neighbors unless our kids played together. Next door to M’s home, there was a couple who we would exchange “hellos” with but that was about it. They were car hobbyists and we’d had casual conversations about their Model A Ford and the Toyota Celica that looked just like mine in blue.
After I left in the ambulance, they drove two cars to the hospital. When we were waiting for them to do the CAT scan, I left her room to make phone calls to family, only to discover my neighbors in the waiting room, where they had been for the last five hours. They gave me a hug and handed me the keys to their Celica, which they’d driven to the hospital for me to drive home. They said they figured I would be familiar enough with it to get home easily.
It was such a kind gesture. Something I wouldn’t have thought about until it was time to go. Until much later, I didn’t know if I’d go home with or without her — I hadn’t even thought about how I’d get there. They also brought her a stuffed bunny to comfort her. That bunny still has a place of honor amongst the beanie babies and other miscellaneous animals. She slept with it every night for 2 years.
I will never forget them. It was such an incredibly thoughtful thing. Someday I hope to have an opportunity to pay that forward to someone else.
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