Originally Posted By Lisann22 After yesterday I think we need to switch gears a bit. What was the kindest thing a friend has ever done for you?
Originally Posted By mele Last December we had a huge windstorm and huge sections of town lost electricity. Kala and her husband showed up at our house one morning with a thermos of hot chocolate, warm ham steaks, scrambled eggs w/cheese and toast which they had cooked on their WOOD STOVE for us. So thoughtful and wonderful of them. It made me feel so loved and it was a very tasty, WARM breakfast. Kala and her husband are good people.
Originally Posted By Lisann22 When I was 23 I took a job offer in Chicago. My sister who was 19 decided to join me once I had settled. She was still going to college and working part time at a children's day care center. I had hired a new Admin Asst a few weeks after I moved to Chicago, a woman about 45 at the time. Fessie was from a big family, her mom was a retired nurse and we hit it off immediately. I'm not one to get super close to my subordinates as a rule of thumb. Although by nature I do reach out to people. I'm not cold, I just try to keep my professional distance. Well, being my sister and I were two California girls now living in the dead of winter in Chicago we had no clue how to battle the extreme weather. My sister had no medical insurance. That January, she'd come in October, she got pneumonia and then on top of that got chicken pox from the kids at the Center. She was really ill and I was getting really worried. She couldn't eat, she was losing weight, it was very scary. Then I got strep throat and bad. I could hardly lift my head from the pillow let alone attend to my sister. I remember going after medicine for her and crawling on my hands and knees to get up the three flights of stairs to our apartment I was so weak. I didn't want to call my parents back in Nor Cal and alarm them (that was really stupid in hindsight). So in my daily calls to work to check on my warehouse Fessie kept asking about my sister and I. I told her we were in bad shape. About 3 hours later, there's a knock at our brownstone door. It's her mom Grace (so fitting) with a pot of chicken noodle soup, a doctors bag, and a suitcase. Grace stayed with us for 1 week. I could not believe it. She cooked, she gave my sister a hot lemon bath, she administered our meds. She was wonderful. She truly was our saving Grace. From that point on we were part of their family. Making us feel a bit of home with their big family reminding us of ours. We did a couple Thanksgiving and Christmases with them. I will never forget Grace and Fessie. They are in my heart forever. We still keep in touch, Grace is now 83, still vibrant, still volunteering in her community. They are always my first stop when I go back to Chicago.
Originally Posted By chickapin Many years ago (I was in high school) my family was visiting my brother who lived in the Chicago area. My father had a heart attack in the middle of the night and was in ICU. My mom was torn between my sister and me in a strange hotel and my father in the hospital. My brother had a tiny 1 bedroom apartment. When it became apparent we would have to stay for some time she began to worry about the expense of the hotel or cramming us all into my brother's place. A family he knew casually from church heard of our situation and brought their house key over. They were leaving on a 3 week vacation and offered us their home. It was such a kindness for total strangers--a huge act of trust. I have always been grateful for these wonderful people taking an enormous worry from my mother. Lisann--they must really train 'em right in Chicago!
Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter No kidding! Those are some amazing stories. I would be hard put to come up with the one kindest thing a friend has ever done for me. I've been blessed with truly extraordinary friends throughout my life. If I had to choose just one, though, it would be a very dear friend not only offering to take care of my children (for ten days!!) so that I could go on a dream trip with my husband, but also volunteering to fly halfway across the country to stay with them here in my home if I/they didn't feel comfortable flying out to her house. As it turns out, they were delighted to fly out to her, and she organized a truly spectacular vacation for them--many of the highlights of Northern California *and* five days in Disneyland. So I received the dual gift of my children being made deliriously happy and the peace of mind to enjoy my own trip worry-free, knowing they were in the best possible hands.
Originally Posted By LuLu I've had some wonderful friends that have reached out to me on holidays and such, thinking of me as one of their family so I wouldn't be lonely. Neat stuff. However, one thing that really touched me, a friend that I don't even spend much time with, a busy lady who's a doctor... Well, my contractor screwed me over and left my bathrooms undone after putting up tile and NO grout. My friend is very handy and offered to come over with tools and help me finish the work. I would have never been able to do it without her!
Originally Posted By LVBelle Throughout high school I was very involved with the cultural diversity and awareness club at school. My senior year I was president and I organized an assembly for the entire school. Several of my friends decided to acknowledge all of the work I put into the club. At the close of the assembly they brought out the school's show choir. They sang to me and gave me a bouquet of flowers in front of the entire student body. It was incredible, one of the best memories I have from high school.
Originally Posted By ophellia since my best friend died in May I've had an amazing outpouring of empathy and understanding...I am one year new to the small community I live in and it's been a comfort to have folks express their concern...
Originally Posted By Big Thunder I too have been blessed with kindness from friends as well as strangers many times through out my life. Most times were not anything extrodinary, but a small act of kindness that comforted me. Most times it was when I was in despair or going through a tough time and somone simply reached out. Sometimes it's just a smile, a few words of encouragment, a firm handshake with a sincere look or a tight warm hug. When I've need shelter someone has offered me a night on their couch. When hungry, a meal, when needing transposrtation, a ride. When feeling down, a lift. Any and all of those mean a lot to me.
Originally Posted By Tinkeroon Our DD, prior to her birth, was already making her personality known to us. She has always been quite contrary by nature and this was our first clue...I had to have a c-section because she wanted to make her entrance into this world an audition for the Royal Ballet or something. Instead of the traditional head first delivery she wanted to be standing up with one foot straight down and one foot straight up over her head. Well, that made for the more difficult birth and it was a rough recovery for me. I was in so much pain and she came home with severe colic. It was a nightmare. And one night when I was at the end of my rope my DH got up in the middle of the night (even though he had to get ready for work in just a couple of hours and had had no sleep either)and told me to go to bed and he would take care of her. The relief I felt was tremendous and I bawled out how I just couldn't take much more and he said "that is why the good Lord saw fit to give her two parents". At that moment he was the life preserver I needed to grab onto and there he was.
Originally Posted By davewasbaloo These are wonderful stories folks. Thank you for bringing a smile to my lips. My story is one where my parents were really broke when I was at college. I was struggling to get home for Christmas because the trains were delayed due to snow storms. After several hours of trying, I called my parents and said I would have to stay at college. We were all very upset, and they couldn't get me (the roads were ok, but it was a case of getting their son from college or feeding the little ones). In the middle of the night, I had a knock on my door. It was best friend from Highschool (who was studying at a college 200 miles away). He said he came to give me my Christmas present - he was going to chauffer me home. So he stayed the night and we set off the next morning, arriving home Christmas eve - my Mom's birthday. And he refused any contribution for fuel costs. We are still close to this day - you may have even seen his wedding photos on here a few weeks ago.
Originally Posted By lasvegasgirl The kindest thing my best friend ever did for me, was , to stay with me and comfort me when my husband died of cancer. She took a lot of pictures of hubby and I a few days before he passed --- some, I didn't know she had taken till I saw them later --- and she hugged me and just let me know I would make it through, even though I thought I would crumble. The love and care she showed me was unforgettable. We have been best friends for 29 years now...........
Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter What incredibly uplifting stories there are here! Thank you very much, everyone who's shared them.
