1. A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I were at a coffee shop after work just having an evening chill session. This elderly couple walked in holding hands but the gentleman had a cane and it seemed the lady was leading the way. After getting their order the settled into a corner and it was absolutely adorable. They guy was obviously blind, but he would casually stoke his wife’s hair telling her that she was beautiful over and over again. It was really sweet. She helped him to the door of the men’s room, which I was already in, and as him and I were washing up, I asked him since he was blind how could he tell how beautiful his wife was. He smiled and told me that he had been blind for 55 years, and that the image of his wife in his head is from 55 years ago, and she would always be that beautiful person in his mind.
2. During summer break of college, I had been having such a hard time. I attend UCLA but live in NYC. The bad thing about that is that my boyfriend lived in Dallas, TX. Of course we would use Skype, talk on the phone, email, text and write letters, but something was just missing. I was only two and a half weeks in and I was in misery. I missed having him around, seeing his face and the overall way I felt when he was around. I went to bed one night without talking to him, I didn’t know what was going on, he was not online or answering any of my calls or text’s. So I go to bed that night with worry, thinking the worst. The next morning I woke up, and he was sitting on the edge of my bed and the first thing he said was “I love you”. He and my parents had made special plans to fly him out and surprise me for my birthday.
3. Yesterday, I went to the park with my dad. We have been close my entire life, I literally fall into that category of, “Daddy’s little girl”. At least once a week, my husband, kids and I would meet him the park. We would let the kids play and catch up on everything. My husband and I worked at the same company and we both lost our job due to the former banking crisis. Things had been hard for a while. I mean paying for the house, the cars, the kids and everything else had wiped out our savings and we even had to get some government assistance. That day we are sitting in the park and my dad pulls an envelope out of his jacket and hands it to me. I looked at it curiously. My parents were not very wealthy just blue collar workers their entire life. I opened the envelope and there is a letter, and a bank statement. My dad looks up and says, “Honey I know that you have been having a hard time, and it’s not your fault. Your mother and I discussed it and we decided it was time to give your inheritance to you early. We love you all and we don’t want to see the two of you and the grandkids suffer if it can be avoided”. I had no clue that my father and mother had been saving up for me since the day I was born. He handed me a check, bank statement and a hand written letter. The check was for over $200,000.00, the statement was transferring it to my name and the letter said, “I’ll always take care of my little girl”.
4. Three months ago I lost my job due to downsizing, to say the least it was a terrible day. I called my husband and explained the situation to him and he was very supportive, giving me words of encouragement. He said that he was working late and gave me the address to meet him after he got off work so we could have dinner. In my somewhat depressed mood I did what I could to pull myself together, dressed and left to meet my husband at the restaurant. When I pulled up I spotted my husband’s car right away, but it was the only one in the lot. Thinking this was odd, I got out of the car and walked over and asked what was going on. He then handed me a set of keys and told me to take a look at my new coffee shop. I had talked for years how I wanted to quit my job one day and open a coffee shop. He had been working on the store for over a year without me knowing about it, and on the very day that I lost my job, I started my career because of my husband’s generosity and love.
5. My wife and I have been together for over 40 years now. Being with someone for 40 plus years, you tend to fall into a routine and have a really good understanding of that person. My wife is a very power driven person, being an executive at a law firm, her work ethic was expert. I became ill with cancer, leukemia to be exact. I put on a brave face and tried my best to still be the man that I was supposed to be, but all in all, it was taking a toll on me. I had to be hospitalized for about a week at one point, and I thought my wife was doing everything she could, managing me, work and family. Even though I wanted her there, she couldn’t be there all the time and I understood that. When I was released from the hospital I was completely shocked when I came home. During my hospital stay, my wonderful wife had taken a leave of absence from her office and had converted our old den that was rarely used into an at home office, so she could see her clients there, hold video conferences and such. I looked at her and said why did you do this. She smiled really big and said, “Because I love you silly.” Today I am cancer free and I think it’s because of the love and dedication from my amazing wife. I love you Jane.
6. My children have always been very supportive of me since their father died over 10 years ago, helping me do things around the house and keeping my lawn neat and groomed. It had however, gotten to a point now, that being in that huge house all by myself was getting to be scary not only for my children but for myself. We had discussed many options from living assisted facilities to hiring someone to stay with me; all options were going to be rather expensive though. There seemed to be no clear solution to what we were going to do. I wanted to have my independence because I was still of sound mind, it was just my body that was getting old. That Christmas my Daughter Brenda told me that we were having Christmas dinner at her place. On the drive there we were listening to Christmas music, singing the carols along the way having a great time. When we arrived to her street, I expected us to pull in her driveway, but instead we pulled into the driveway next to my daughter’s house. Puzzled I looked at her and she looked back and said “Merry Christmas Mom”. My 6 beautiful children had saved money and put a down payment on the house next to my daughters. It was smaller yes, but very much everything that I would need. Close to my daughter so if I needed help she would be there in an instant with her being a full time mom, she could devote the time needed to help with my care. I still have my old house, and am renting it out to family, but the generosity of my children far exceeded anything I could have ever expected. Not only did I get to continue having my own place, but I also retained a sense of my independence. I don’t think words can express how much I love them.
7. We live in a small community outside of Charlotte, NC. Our community has always been very close and has always done things to help with the community. Being a single mother and after losing my job I found out what the sense of community really is and how much love your community can actually give you. All of my neighbors grouped together to have garage sells and bake sales at the church to help me with the expenses of my house payment and utilities. Eventually I found another job, but nothing that I could do will ever be enough to express the love and gratitude that I have for my neighbors and what they did for my family and I in our time of need.
8. Twenty years ago, I spent the summer with my grandparents in Atlanta, GA. I am a native of Springhill, LA. While I was there at the young age of only 16 years old, I met a guy that I fell completely in love with. We had the best summer, lounging around all afternoon, talking about books, movies and what we were going to do with our lives when we grew up. He was spectacular. The summer came to a close and I had to return home to Louisiana and eventually David and I grew out of touch. I graduated high school, went to college, graduated college and went out into the world to make my mark; however, David was never far from my mind. Yes I had other boyfriends, but nothing ever measured up to the experience of that summer. Last year, right before my 36th birthday I decided to go spend a couple of weeks with my grandmother again. The first day I was there before I even reached my grandmother’s house, I was pumping gas when out of the store walks David. My mouth nearly hit the ground, and he recognized me right away. After a few short minutes we were talking away and agreed to meet at a little restaurant downtown for dinner. That night, he proposed to me, we were married a month later and are now expecting our first child. Sometimes you never get over your first love, and sometimes, you never have to.
9. I love my grand kids with all of my heart. Their grandfather has been dead for over 15 years and my grandson Alex was only 2 years old when he passed. Alex was like a son to me and we shared stories all the time, he loved to sit back and listen to me telling stories of my high school days. When I was a girl no one ever asked me to prom so I didn’t attend. My grandson was so excited about his prom, he had worked all summer to save up money to rent a limo and buy his tux. What I didn’t expect was that I would be his date. The day of the prom I found a gift box on my bed with an exquisite dress and a note. The note read, “Grandma, you are the most beautiful person that I know, and every girl deserves to go to prom, be ready by 7. Love, Alex.” The though alone brought me to tears and I had the most amazing time being my grandsons prom date. Every time I think about it, I realize how much of a special boy he is and how much I love him so.
10. Two years ago my wife slipped into a coma after being in a car accident. It was the hardest thing that I had ever been through. Every day for two years, I would go to her hospital room and sit with her, reading her news articles and telling all of the stories of our years together. Everyone had given up hope, but Janet was my whole world, and I would never give up. One night while visiting her I was playing a video of our wedding day. Slowly her eyes opened and she moved her hand. She called out my name and I squeezed her hand. She whispered into my ear, “I love you.” Weeks later she was doing great and we were sitting on the hospital bed waiting for her discharge instructions. She told me, that she remembered all of the stories that I was telling her when she was asleep; that she could hear me and that it helped her come back to me.
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