This is so beautiful. When I was a single mom and my kids were young, life was pretty challenging. But, the older woman across this street who lived alone noticed me. Once in a while she would come out and she would say, "I think I need a hug today" and she would put her arms out and hug me saying that she needed that. And then at the end she'd always say you are a good mom. She'll never know how much that meant to me. She would definitely have fit in this little book of yours. I hope you publish it in some way because I'd love to have a copy.
Reading these comments is as lovely as reading your original letter! I remember years ago taking my baby niece out to a coffee shop to give my sister a break. My anxiety at the time was that I wasn’t a fit person to do anything much. A stranger at the next table chatted and smiled and when I said I wasn’t mum but auntie she said, ‘isn’t that lovely, it means they trust you.’ And even now, that brings tears to my eyes. Did she know one of my biggest struggles is to trust myself? It was a vital gift that she needn’t have given 🥰🥹
There is so much truth in your words Brad I literally had tingles and started to cry. So simple. So true. So extroadinarily beautifully put. Thank you so much for sharing. <3
Marissa Dove Brown is such a wonderful hero. She quietly helps others and searches for ways to make life better for middle schoolers and their teachers. I love her bright eyed face that is always looking to see positives for others. Her peaceful happiness is earnest and contagious.
It’s easy to get swept up in global problems and big issues, and feel powerless. But we mainly live in the local. We can do a lot when we think of our local “world” and the people we come in contact with there.
In the few years I’ve lived on my street, I’d come to know my next-door neighbors in small moments of seeing each other as we come and go from our houses. Then last fall I had a stroke that kept me indoors throughout the winter and spring. Everyone saw the ambulance take me away late at night, and they knew I was caretaker for my mom, so the experience unlocked a new level of neighboring. The first week I returned from the hospital, one neighbor brought extra food over every night; she herself is 90 years old and lives alone, so the act of sharing from her meager supply was astonishing! Throughout this year, as I’ve recovered, my other neighbors have watched for ways they could help me without any even having contact most of the time. Even now, a year later, I find that my trash bin gets returned from the street every week before I even have a chance to retrieve it. 😄 I’ve tried to be an equally good neighbor in whatever way I can, which mostly looks like tossing all the sports equipment back over the fence when their young children misjudge height and distance in enthusiastic play. Being “unlikely” really is contagious!
I’m blessed with so many throughout my life - my parents who always supported and advised me, my godfather who has continually been there for me when times have been rough, my neighbor who brings over freshly cooked food on occasions and who drives me to get groceries, good friend who drove out of her way to help me with legal issues and was instrumental in my move to a new home and so many others.
The Unlikelies
This is so beautiful. When I was a single mom and my kids were young, life was pretty challenging. But, the older woman across this street who lived alone noticed me. Once in a while she would come out and she would say, "I think I need a hug today" and she would put her arms out and hug me saying that she needed that. And then at the end she'd always say you are a good mom. She'll never know how much that meant to me. She would definitely have fit in this little book of yours. I hope you publish it in some way because I'd love to have a copy.
Reading these comments is as lovely as reading your original letter! I remember years ago taking my baby niece out to a coffee shop to give my sister a break. My anxiety at the time was that I wasn’t a fit person to do anything much. A stranger at the next table chatted and smiled and when I said I wasn’t mum but auntie she said, ‘isn’t that lovely, it means they trust you.’ And even now, that brings tears to my eyes. Did she know one of my biggest struggles is to trust myself? It was a vital gift that she needn’t have given 🥰🥹
I hope you do make this into a book. The Unlikelies need to know they are a gift to this world, that their gentleness is a strength :)
I'm so glad this is the first thing I read this morning!
I met a new Unlikely yesterday!
New Unlikely Favorite! So Lovely
There is so much truth in your words Brad I literally had tingles and started to cry. So simple. So true. So extroadinarily beautifully put. Thank you so much for sharing. <3
Love it Brad. So much. ❤️
I love this so much!
This is wonderful — thank you so much for thinking it up, writing it out, and sending it today…
Marissa Dove Brown is such a wonderful hero. She quietly helps others and searches for ways to make life better for middle schoolers and their teachers. I love her bright eyed face that is always looking to see positives for others. Her peaceful happiness is earnest and contagious.
This is so heartwarming. I love it!
It’s easy to get swept up in global problems and big issues, and feel powerless. But we mainly live in the local. We can do a lot when we think of our local “world” and the people we come in contact with there.
Great newsletter.
In the few years I’ve lived on my street, I’d come to know my next-door neighbors in small moments of seeing each other as we come and go from our houses. Then last fall I had a stroke that kept me indoors throughout the winter and spring. Everyone saw the ambulance take me away late at night, and they knew I was caretaker for my mom, so the experience unlocked a new level of neighboring. The first week I returned from the hospital, one neighbor brought extra food over every night; she herself is 90 years old and lives alone, so the act of sharing from her meager supply was astonishing! Throughout this year, as I’ve recovered, my other neighbors have watched for ways they could help me without any even having contact most of the time. Even now, a year later, I find that my trash bin gets returned from the street every week before I even have a chance to retrieve it. 😄 I’ve tried to be an equally good neighbor in whatever way I can, which mostly looks like tossing all the sports equipment back over the fence when their young children misjudge height and distance in enthusiastic play. Being “unlikely” really is contagious!
As a mother who stayed home with children for most of my professional life, I so appreciate this .... thank you <3
I’m blessed with so many throughout my life - my parents who always supported and advised me, my godfather who has continually been there for me when times have been rough, my neighbor who brings over freshly cooked food on occasions and who drives me to get groceries, good friend who drove out of her way to help me with legal issues and was instrumental in my move to a new home and so many others.