Scarlett Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I have been thinking about my childhood a lot....and my mom raising us with so little. Our dad was not in our life and provided no support....and there was no family help either. I remember how hurt my mom was one time when I was sick with a bad tonsil infection and high fever...mom needed to work and didn't want to leave me alone....and my grandmother refused to come sit with me. But we had such good friends. Such a good support network. Seems like help was always showing up JUST when we thought we were sunk....like the time an elderly woman across country where we had moved from a couple of years before...she sent my mom $100 and said she was just thinking about her. (100 in 1979 was a lot of money). And when a friend found out that my mom was making multiple $25 payments to medical bills of just a few hundred a friend went down and paid off the balance of the loans. And the time a distant cousin made my mom go get tires on her car on his account at the time store because her tires were so bald it made him scared for us. And the time the health food store in town called and said someone had gifted us $100 to spend in the store. They never did reveal themselves. Oh and driving across country when our car broke down....a young couple(that we had never met) from the local congregation came and got us and put us up in their home for the night and her husband got the part and repaired it the next day for mom. I think she is still in contact with them 40 years later. There are just a lot of good people in the world. That is easy to forget at times with all the badness going on. Anyone have their own 'kindness shown to me' story? 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catwoman Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Thank you for starting this thread, Scarlett! It was so nice to hear about how people helped you and your mom. And your mom sounds like an incredible lady, too!!! :hurray: 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Let's us be those people! 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 Thank you for starting this thread, Scarlett! It was so nice to hear about how people helped you and your mom. And your mom sounds like an incredible lady, too!!! :hurray: Yes. She was amazing. She still is, but she doesn't have to struggle now so she is much more relaxed. There was the time we had just moved to a new town because she got a new job and she found out she had cancer. She had to literally pick a family out of the new congregation in new town (we had been there about 4 months) and ask them to take care of my brother and me while she was in the hospital. Can you even imagine? She was devastated and terrified she would die and who would take care of us. Thankfully the family turned out to be wonderful people and they took care of us very well while she was down.....and they are all still our very close friends to this day. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 I remember one time when I was about 10 a bunch of us kids were playing in the front yard at a friend's house...grownups were inside. The house sat right on a main highway....it was summer and had just turned dark...probably about 9. Suddenly this car stopped briefly.....and few minutes later a man walked up to us kids. Terrified us and we went screaming inside....grown ups came back out and this black man said he was hitchhiking and had been let out there. Which was strange because there was no intersection....just a weird place to let someone out. So the problem was, it was a small town and it was an all white town. It was really not safe for him to be there. It was a 100 miles to a place that was not all white....I can still remember all of the grown ups conferring in a huddle about what to do. I mean they had to be practical, they could not let him stay there because he might be an axe murderer...LOL...anyway, my mom says, 'well, how about we take him back to my house and let him stay there and in the morning he can walk to the bus station (greyhound) and I stay here with you (our friends).' So the men drove him to our house and he stayed there. I remember mom saying, 'well, the only thing of value I have is my sewing machine and I doubt he is going to steal that even if he is a thief.' We went back home the next day and nothing was out of order. I wonder what ever happened to that man. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Sounds like your mom was SMART, too! I love to do random things for people too but I don't know that I've ever gone to that extent. Yet. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Scarlett, such amazing stories. What a great mom you have. I need to think about the good in my life and how to give more to others now. I'm so pessimistic and can often focus on the trouble I'm having, but I know there's lots of good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 I have a recent one! My mom passed away October 27 after a 10-month battle with cancer. Friends of hers were buying her home (the deal had been on the back burner for several years) but needed to be in Dec. 1 because of a rental lease. I thought I would have November to empty the 2,500+ two-story house, that also has a basement mother-in-laws apartment and a 2-car garage. She had lived there 35 years, so it was a big job. It turned out, I had nine days to get things moved and clean out the house (because of many reasons I won't go into). Did I mention we don't live in the same state? So, my husband and 18 yo helped a few days, but most of the time I was there by myself working. After my brother and I had moving companies pack and move the furniture we wanted (and my brother returned to has home state—far away), I emptied closets, drawers, etc. and got an estate sale ready, and my mom's pastor got word out so people could just walk through, pick anything they wanted, and make a donation to the church. That event happened on a Friday/Sat. On that Sunday, after church, about 10 people drove out to the house (10 miles in the country). In not much more than an hour, they packed and loaded everything left (we're talking a lot of things!). They are storing it all at the church and will donate it to the church youth group's garage sale next spring, with proceeds going to the youth group's summer mission program. After dealing with the 10-months of caring/helping my mom, planning the funeral, and then the crazy days of trying to sort a house of memories, I was overwhelmed at the goodness of these faithful friends of my mom as they came to my rescue! 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iamonlyone Posted February 13, 2018 Share Posted February 13, 2018 Just thought of another one! Years ago, we were in the midst of packing to move from Mississippi to Missouri. A tropical storm was headed our way, so we decided I would go ahead with our 3 yo and 18 month old, and my husband would ride it out and drive up later in the week with the moving van. We hadn't experienced leaving the path of a storm before, so we didn't realize how hotels fill up north of the path. I stopped at a hotel at night and asked if there were any vacancies in town (pre cell-phone days). There weren't, but they said a woman had left her phone number in case a mom was traveling alone with young children and needed a place to stay. She housed us that night, and was thrilled to spend some time the next morning playing with the children. I will always remember her kindness. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 13, 2018 Author Share Posted February 13, 2018 I have a recent one! My mom passed away October 27 after a 10-month battle with cancer. Friends of hers were buying her home (the deal had been on the back burner for several years) but needed to be in Dec. 1 because of a rental lease. I thought I would have November to empty the 2,500+ two-story house, that also has a basement mother-in-laws apartment and a 2-car garage. She had lived there 35 years, so it was a big job. It turned out, I had nine days to get things moved and clean out the house (because of many reasons I won't go into). Did I mention we don't live in the same state? So, my husband and 18 yo helped a few days, but most of the time I was there by myself working. After my brother and I had moving companies pack and move the furniture we wanted (and my brother returned to has home state—far away), I emptied closets, drawers, etc. and got an estate sale ready, and my mom's pastor got word out so people could just walk through, pick anything they wanted, and make a donation to the church. That event happened on a Friday/Sat. On that Sunday, after church, about 10 people drove out to the house (10 miles in the country). In not much more than an hour, they packed and loaded everything left (we're talking a lot of things!). They are storing it all at the church and will donate it to the church youth group's garage sale next spring, with proceeds going to the youth group's summer mission program. After dealing with the 10-months of caring/helping my mom, planning the funeral, and then the crazy days of trying to sort a house of memories, I was overwhelmed at the goodness of these faithful friends of my mom as they came to my rescue! So sorry about your mom, but what sweet friends she had to help you out like that . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 This is the kind of thing we need to talk about... My mom also was a very kind-hearted person and I had no idea how much she helped other people and made a difference just by small and simple things. In boxes of family mementos I have found cards and letters to her from people I have heard of but didn't know; thanking her for a dinner she took to their family, a ride to an appointment, watching their kids, lending an ear, stopping by out of the blue. on and on. In her journals I've read about things people did for her...dinner, flowers, chores, rides and more. All because they loved her and appreciated everything she would do for anyone else. On more than one Christmas we were visited by a Secret Santa, dropping lots of gifts in bags on our doorstep, then ringing the doorbell and running from our house like an athlete so as not to be caught, speeding off in a car. Times were tough for us financially. One Christmas, we had left for a few hours, one of our cars was in the driveway unlocked. When we got home it was filled with wrapped presents. I went to the mailbox one day and upon opening it found a thick envelope, it had several one hundred dollar bills in it, two money orders and an anonymous card. We didn't have the means to attend our son's wedding. Several people we know thought that was unacceptable, pulled together money for plane tickets for 2, vehicle rental for 3 days, and a hotel for 2 nights, plus a little traveling money. One person took me out shopping to pay for my dress. We can never repay the things that have been done for us or our kids. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 My husband travels a lot for work. There is a sweet lady at church whose husband use to travel a lot too when her kids were young. Every couple months she will call or text out of the blue and see if the kids can come over for the afternoon. Her timing is always such that it happens when I really need a break. She is also the cool person who does all the messy crafts with my kids. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 Just thought of another one! Years ago, we were in the midst of packing to move from Mississippi to Missouri. A tropical storm was headed our way, so we decided I would go ahead with our 3 yo and 18 month old, and my husband would ride it out and drive up later in the week with the moving van. We hadn't experienced leaving the path of a storm before, so we didn't realize how hotels fill up north of the path. I stopped at a hotel at night and asked if there were any vacancies in town (pre cell-phone days). There weren't, but they said a woman had left her phone number in case a mom was traveling alone with young children and needed a place to stay. She housed us that night, and was thrilled to spend some time the next morning playing with the children. I will always remember her kindness. When I was young, we were driving from South Dakota to TX with my mom. I don’t know if we had car trouble or were caught in a blizzard but we stayed a night with random people who lived out in the country. Can you imagine a mom with three kids under 5 or 6 showing up on your step and taking them in for the night? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 This is the kind of thing we need to talk about... My mom also was a very kind-hearted person and I had no idea how much she helped other people and made a difference just by small and simple things. In boxes of family mementos I have found cards and letters to her from people I have heard of but didn't know; thanking her for a dinner she took to their family, a ride to an appointment, watching their kids, lending an ear, stopping by out of the blue. on and on. In her journals I've read about things people did for her...dinner, flowers, chores, rides and more. All because they loved her and appreciated everything she would do for anyone else. On more than one Christmas we were visited by a Secret Santa, dropping lots of gifts in bags on our doorstep, then ringing the doorbell and running from our house like an athlete so as not to be caught, speeding off in a car. Times were tough for us financially. One Christmas, we had left for a few hours, one of our cars was in the driveway unlocked. When we got home it was filled with wrapped presents. I went to the mailbox one day and upon opening it found a thick envelope, it had several one hundred dollar bills in it, two money orders and an anonymous card. We didn't have the means to attend our son's wedding. Several people we know thought that was unacceptable, pulled together money for plane tickets for 2, vehicle rental for 3 days, and a hotel for 2 nights, plus a little traveling money. One person took me out shopping to pay for my dress. We can never repay the things that have been done for us or our kids. Wow, that is a great story all the help you were given to attend your son's wedding. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 When I was young, we were driving from South Dakota to TX with my mom. I don’t know if we had car trouble or were caught in a blizzard but we stayed a night with random people who lived out in the country. Can you imagine a mom with three kids under 5 or 6 showing up on your step and taking them in for the night? Oh my word. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 Just thought of another one! Years ago, we were in the midst of packing to move from Mississippi to Missouri. A tropical storm was headed our way, so we decided I would go ahead with our 3 yo and 18 month old, and my husband would ride it out and drive up later in the week with the moving van. We hadn't experienced leaving the path of a storm before, so we didn't realize how hotels fill up north of the path. I stopped at a hotel at night and asked if there were any vacancies in town (pre cell-phone days). There weren't, but they said a woman had left her phone number in case a mom was traveling alone with young children and needed a place to stay. She housed us that night, and was thrilled to spend some time the next morning playing with the children. I will always remember her kindness. That is amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 When I was about 5 months old my mom and I went from Utah to AR on a greyhound. In one city she had to transfer across town. With a baby. She had not eaten in 2 days. There was a lady who works for Travelers Aid who was helping mom get me across town....she looked at mom and said, 'when did you last eat?' When mom wouldn't /couldn't lady marched mom over to the lunch counter and ordered her lunch and paid for it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gaillardia Posted February 14, 2018 Share Posted February 14, 2018 I hope you've written these things down so your son(s) know the kind of family they come from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarlett Posted February 14, 2018 Author Share Posted February 14, 2018 I hope you've written these things down so your son(s) know the kind of family they come from.I was just thinking I should write a book. One time when I was a teen it was summer time in AR and VERY hot. We were at the local tire store and while there my mom started talking to a young couple. They were traveling across country and ran into some sort of car trouble that was going to take all day to repair. The young woman was 8 months pregnant. My mom took her back to our house so she could rest for the afternoon. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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