November Thankful: The 9th

I was talking to my father on the phone today and he told me a wonderful story that I wanted to share with you.

It was election day. My dad slowly made his way into the polling station at the local elementary school, my elementary school. He went to stand in line and very soon realized that the line wrapped around the building a few times and would be hours before he got to vote. He knew he would not be able to stand that long, having suffered a stroke 5 years ago and dealing with physical disabilities as a result. After about 10-15min. the people around him began to see him struggle. They offered to have him sit on the buckets they had been sitting on, but they were too low to the ground. He would never get down or back up. Then the young man standing behind my dad asked if he could get my father a chair from the principles office. The young man was excited to be voting for the first time, a recent graduate of my high school alma mater as well as a former student at the elementary school they were standing in now. The chair in the office has wheels and that would be perfect for my dad. So the young man disappeared into the office for a few minutes, returning not with the rolling chair, but a wheel chair instead. The young man than proceeded to push my father through the long, winding line around the school until they reached the sign in table.

As I listened to my father tell me this amazing story, I felt some tears well up in my eyes; tears of unexpected gratefulness. In that moment, I said a silent prayer; thankful that there are people out in this world who are still compassionate, decent human beings, considerate of others.

I am also thankful for the very rare opportunity to get dressed up and go on a date night, enjoying a nice dinner at a fancy restaurant with my handsome, loving husband. (*Thanks Nana, for letting us have this special night. It really meant a lot to us.)