Gratitude for the
sweetest moment on my flight to San Francisco. A woman sat next to me on the
plane, she must have been in her late 70’s or 80’s, petite and hardly spoke a
word of English. After we ate our snacks and drank our ginger ale she looked at
me and in broken English asked me where I was going. And I asked her. And
then she said "My son pick me up". And then concerned look, “You?”
(Who was getting me?) I tried to find out if she had checked bags and started
to worry - she said, “I'll go with you.” I took that to mean she would follow
me to baggage claim.
Then the flight
attendant came by and asked her similar questions. I asked them if she had
bags, did she need help getting to ground transportation. They assured me she
had someone coming to the gate for her. But then, as we were starting our
decent to land (seat backs and tray tables in an upright position!), she unbuckled
and started to go! I quickly tugged her back down – “Not yet, not yet!”
Once we touched down
and we were getting ready to get off the plane, I told her to sit tight and wait,
they had a wheelchair coming for her. She was anxious. She grabbed my hand and
said, “You give me kiss.” I nearly burst into tears. Then as I said goodbye and
walked away she says loudly "Thank you, love you"! Sutures for a
broken heart my friends, tiny human interactions healing my hope, faith and
trust in this world.
~ image and text by Vanessa Simpson | @focus_in_photography
--------------------------
We continue to invite you to look for gratitude this month. Each weekday, we are posting an image and text from the hello there, friend community. If you'd like to join us, there's still plenty of time! You can sign up on the blog or by using the link in our Instagram profile. We'd love to have you!
