My life was falling apart around me. My husband-of-the-time was having an affair I found out. My youngest baby was very sick. At the time, they didn’t know what was wrong with him. In and out of the hospital, $150 worth of meds a month. The poor baby couldn’t sleep laying down, I had to keep him propped in a bouncer or car seat to sleep. We were struggling financially with a foreclosure looming, and at times we didn’t know if we would be able to buy diapers. We had our electricity cut off once or twice. I went into a Walmart in South Carolina off of Two Notch Road on one of the few days I had money to spend on groceries and carefully kept track of everything I bought.
As I was shopping I heard the rain coming down on the roof of the building. Then the thunder. I paid for my things and headed to the exit. It was pouring. My car was half way down the parking lot. I debated on waiting by the door to see if it would let up. I did for a few minutes but it didn’t seem like it was going to let up anytime soon.
I made the decision to make a dash for my car. My boys were around 2 month and 18 months old. I got my my older son out of the seat and my youngest’s baby carrier and tried to get them both in the car at the same time but I had to put them down because I neglected to grab my keys out of my purse.
An older gentleman with an umbrella came walking toward me very swiftly. I’m ashamed to say my anxiety went up for a minute. I had no idea why he was coming at me so quickly. He didn’t say anything, he just lifted the umbrella over my head. He held the umbrella as I got both babies in the car. He waited patiently as I buckled each child in. He then held continued to shelter me from the rain as I loaded the groceries in the car. I didn’t know him and he didn’t know me. I do remember telling him thank you at least three times.
Even as I type this I’m crying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve thought of that man. I wish I knew who he was. I wish I could tell him how much his kindness meant to me …still means to me. When I felt like nothing was going right in my life something happened to give me hope. The “sunshine in the rain” so to speak. I remember getting in the car almost in disbelief that someone would do that. It wasn’t until got home and thought about the whole situation again that I began to cry. That moment was exactly what I needed and it’s a moment I carry on with me.
Many things have changed in my life for the better. But that gentleman, that small moment in my life, will always remind me that even when everything else seems dark, there is always a light somewhere.
