Kathy has a son named Zach, who has recently begun selling some of his photographs online. I fell head over heels for one, and placed an order. This was about a week and a half ago.
Those intervening days have been achingly awful for me --- I've been low and weepy and my therapy session today was really hard. I thought some take-out from a good Chinese restaurant might lift me up a bit.
Several weeks ago, I began keeping bottles of water and individually packaged snacks in my car. It seemed to me I was seeing a lot more people standing on corners and at intersections with cardboard "Please help" signs, and I thought, if I kept things on hand, I could help them out a little.
This afternoon, after my tough session, and on my way to get my food, I saw an older man sitting on a curb with a sign that said, "Homeless. Anything would help." I got into a parking lot, got some water and snacks for him from the car, but when I got to him, he said, "Miss Ma'am, I got something to eat. I need money."
I was stunned. I walked back to my car, shaking. What had just happened? WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED?
I managed not to cry until after I got my food. I was just trying to do a good thing. Even that turned to woe.
When I pulled into my driveway, I saw a package on my front porch. It was the picture I ordered from Zach:
Those intervening days have been achingly awful for me --- I've been low and weepy and my therapy session today was really hard. I thought some take-out from a good Chinese restaurant might lift me up a bit.
Several weeks ago, I began keeping bottles of water and individually packaged snacks in my car. It seemed to me I was seeing a lot more people standing on corners and at intersections with cardboard "Please help" signs, and I thought, if I kept things on hand, I could help them out a little.
This afternoon, after my tough session, and on my way to get my food, I saw an older man sitting on a curb with a sign that said, "Homeless. Anything would help." I got into a parking lot, got some water and snacks for him from the car, but when I got to him, he said, "Miss Ma'am, I got something to eat. I need money."
I was stunned. I walked back to my car, shaking. What had just happened? WHAT HAD JUST HAPPENED?
I managed not to cry until after I got my food. I was just trying to do a good thing. Even that turned to woe.
When I pulled into my driveway, I saw a package on my front porch. It was the picture I ordered from Zach:
At the end of this miserable day, there was a light.
Thank you, Zach. More than you can know.
4 comments:
Wow. I'm so sorry that your act of kindness was met with ungratefulness. I'm glad your lovely photo was waiting for you. Hopefully the light is shining a little brighter for you.
I've had similar experiences and they are always astonishing, since you feel that your attempt at kindness resulted in a slap in the face. It's hard to forget.
But hopefully that photo will make a difference. Life isn't always dark.
And YOU Kim shone a light for me today. Much love and hugs
kath
I'm so sorry you had that experience - I've seen it, too, and wondered. The photo is wonderful - ((hugs))
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