Writers Challenge...

I’m joining Lori E @ Family Trees may contain nuts in her first Writers challenge
with the topic “One of the nicest things anyone has ever done for you”.

I’ve been blessed with many wonderful people in my life and
over the years many of them have done very nice things for me
which I appreciate and love them all the more for.

But one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for me
that I thought fit this topic perfectly was actually done by a stranger.

Over the years I’ve come a long way through hard work and
determination but about 17 years ago
I was going through a particular rough spot in my life,
only a little over a year in this country, hardly speaking the language,
freshly separated from my husband, raising a two year old,
trying to make ends meet with very little and
barely being able to afford the roof over our heads.

Being able to purchase food was difficult,
after paying rent and a babysitter in order for me to be able to work,
there was almost nothing left.
Our kitchen usually contained four items:
bread, milk, peanut butter and ramen noodles.
For more then a year that is what my son and I lived on.

One morning we were rushing to get ready.
I had to go to work and I had to drop my son at the sitters.
We were about to head out the door when
we almost stepped on a box that was sitting right in front of it.

I brought the heavy box into the house and
my little boy and I opened it with great curiosity.

As I opened the cardboard flaps I found a note
“A little sunshine for you and your little boy”
is all it said
and under the note were cans of beans, carrots, corn and peas,
two loafs of bread, tea and coffee, cookies, eggs,
flour, sugar, butter, cereal, packaged lunch meat,
hot dogs and hamburger meat and much more.

I was so surprised, shocked and tears of joy and gratitude filled my eyes.
My little boy grabbed the cookies and had one of the biggest smiles
I had ever seen on his face.

I searched all through the box and checked the outside of it
to see if I could find anything that would let me know who was so kind to us.
But the stranger seemed to want to remain anonymous and
to this day I don’t know who was responsible
for sending a little bit of sunshine to our life.

When things started to turn around for me and my family
I decided that if I could not ever thank that kind stranger in person,
the least I could do is to pay his or her gift forward.

There are people all around us that could use a little ‘sunshine’
every now and then and I’ll continue to spread that whenever I can.

Have a wonderful Sunday,