Susan couldn’t have known
Friday April 17th 2009, 12:03 pm
Filed under: Knitting a Gift,Life

Susan’s koala bear that I mentioned the other day came through the mail uncommonly fast .  But I was starting to fight a cold and hesitated to touch it or take it across the street quite yet, and gave it a few days–that, and, their cars just seemed not to be around.

The mom’s wasn’t when I took the amaryllis flower over there, either, come to think of it.

Yesterday I looked at their empty driveway and thought, did they already move back to Ireland? But it was supposed to be the end of the month!  So when the dad’s car showed up, I decided I’d better get that bear to him while I knew I could. My sniffles were better, thank goodness.

He loved it. I told him it was from a thrilled new grandma whose love was spilling over and she wanted to share it with them.  The young dad, so far from home, was touched and grateful and thought it was so cute.

And then he opened up at last and told me his son was in the hospital with kidney problems and vomiting and had had a 105 degree fever.

Oh goodness. I told him my Sam had once had a 105.2 and it was terrifying; I so hoped his son would heal quickly.  And then I went home and prayed for little Jack. I’ve been thinking since then that I need to offer to help feed the dog and to offer to gather up volunteers from church to help  do their packing for them if they need it.  Anything to support them at such a painful time.

Wow.  The timing.  Susan, your knitted koala was not only a cute toy, it became the means by which that family had neighbors present for them to care about them and their son in a moment they needed it badly.

There are no small acts of kindness. Sometimes life shows you just how powerful a little gesture really is. THANK you, Susan!!


10 Comments so far
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Wow, such great timing.

Comment by Alicia 04.17.09 @ 12:05 pm

Gulp. That’s me swallowing back my tears… Wish I could come walk the dog or something…

Comment by Channon 04.17.09 @ 12:35 pm

Sending a prayer for little Jack and his family.

I wish I was there to help, out, too. But I’m sure if I look around me there are folks who need me to do things for them….

Comment by karin 04.17.09 @ 12:57 pm

If you talk to little Jack’s family let them know I’m praying that he heals quickly. It’s so tough when little ones are sick and can’t tell you what’s wrong. I’ll be praying for his mom and dad too.

Comment by Jody M 04.17.09 @ 2:14 pm

That is what I call the karmic wheel turning. Sometimes it’s a bad thing, but it can also be a good thing! Admittedly, I try to weight it in the good direction….

Comment by Carol 04.17.09 @ 2:37 pm

Such a beautiful story of giving. I do hope the little boy will recover soon.

Comment by Joansie 04.17.09 @ 3:08 pm

Alison, I do thank you for being the bearer of all of our good wishes for Jack and his family. Maybe he’ll be home this weekend and feel just fine now. It’s so frightening to have a sick baby and not be able to tell him that he’ll feel better soon (and this shot won’t hurt, yeah, right). Do keep us posted on little Jack’s wellbeing.

Comment by sjanova 04.17.09 @ 5:07 pm

Alison, the first sentence of your last paragraph struck me: There are no small acts of kindness. And I’m sure the accent is on “small”. You certainly seem to know the right things to do. My prayers go out for that little boy and his family.

For humor, I’ll go with a little one-liner.
The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.

Comment by Don Meyer 04.17.09 @ 7:32 pm

Serendipity ROCKS!

Comment by Diana Troldahl 04.17.09 @ 8:04 pm

For several days I have been coming back to “There are no small acts of kindness” and it brings me to tears every time. Having recently had surgery and just beginning chemo last week, I’m so filled with gratitude for the many acts of kindness that have come my way. When I got home from an awful first day of chemo (terrible reaction to IV benedryl), how did one of our kitties know to go under the covers all the way down to snuggle my painful feet as I climbed into bed? (She never does that.)
It helps me to have you verbalize some of what I’ve been feeling, and gives me a response to those who pooh-pooh what they’ve done, as “just doing my job” or “that’s what friends are for.” We are all inter-connected, and we never know where an act of kindness will end up! 🙂

Carol in MA

Comment by Carol Telsey 04.21.09 @ 6:23 am



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