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“There is a kind of sadness that comes from knowing too much, from seeing the world as it truly is. It is the sadness of understanding that life is not a grand adventure, but a series of small, insignificant moments, that love is not a fairy tale, but a fragile, fleeting emotion, that happiness is not a permanent state, but a rare, fleeting glimpse of something we can never hold onto. And in that understanding, there is a profound loneliness, a sense of being cut off from the world, from other people, from oneself.”
Virginia Woolf
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I could feel like her, but now I do. Sometimes, I feel I know too much and have seen too much. The world today is drifting away from me, as it should when you get older. It’s moving faster; it makes my head spin at times.
But each and every time I think the sadness might take over, something happens that makes my soul smile.
Today, when I saw the pictures of a young teenage girl, sitting on the floor between bags with a smile on her face, I smiled as well.
A sad story that touched so many hearts.
Yet the story is just one of many. A 14-year-old girl came home to her apartment, and all rooms, including hers, were empty. The landlord had given everything to Goodwill because he thought the apartment had been abandoned. He did nothing wrong. I am sure it happens quite often and he has to clean up when renters fall behind with rent and leave in the middle of the night. No judgment here on my side and many agreed with me.
The rent for the apartment hadn’t been paid because the mother, a single mom, had been in the hospital and then she passed away. The young girl, a thirteen-year-old teenager, spent a couple of weeks with her grandparents, who took care of her and didn’t think about paying for the apartment. They surely had enough on their mind.
After the funeral, when they went to the flat they found it empty. Everything the girl owned was gone, and with it, all paperwork, birth certificate, financial records, photos – everything.
Our community came together; the ones with open hearts opened their wallets and that’s how the young girl ended up sitting on the floor between bags and boxes full of things a girl this age needs – and so much more. “I got too much,” she said and she decided to keep what she needed and wished for, the rest will go to other girls in need – and there are many.
The goodness that I look for every day, it’s so easy to find. A life can be changed by a small difference one of us makes.
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE…..WE ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!
I was not involved at all. When I heard about it, I was no longer needed, which felt good. Knowing there are so many others like me, made me smile.
Yeah, it would be easy to blame the landlord, but he has bills to pay too and needs to get the apartment rented if it has been “abandoned.” I imagine he does not have to time to research each time the rent is late and no one is around to ask. Sad situation. I am very happy to see that people came together for the girl and replaced what they could. Thanks for sharing this!
A most profound post
Thank you.
A real life story empathetically told. Such does not only happen to children . . . yours truly was nearly blind and with broken arms in hospital for two months just over a year ago and ‘came home’ to almost the same situation . . and all my moneys had been paid . . . am very slowly only now getting over the circumstances . . . kinda ) !
This was hard to ‘like’. I am so sorry you had to go through such a hard and painful time but I am relieved to know it all ended well. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you for sharing this heartwarming story, Bridget. It just goes to show that the more we help one another, the better we’ll feel. And the person being helped will certainly feel better! 🙂
I think that’s the secret to a happiness and a good life. To be willing to help without any strings attached.
Kindness in the midst of so much heartbreak brought a warm glow to this heart. Thank you for sharing ❤️
You are very welcome. It was my honor to share this story.
thank you for sharing. It made my heart lighter hearing this story. do you mind sharing where you live? you seem to have a number of positive things going on in your community that i don’t see in mine. I’m wondering if they aren’t there or if i am just not seeing them
We live in Columbus, Ohio and I didn’t see much ‘good’ either but it changed when I got involved. I am not sure how it works, almost like a hidden organization of likeminded people, mostly women. Many of us think alike and it seems we find each other now more than before. Maybe we all have the same needs. The darker it gets on the ouyside, the more light you need inside -if this makes sense.
Get involved or start and you will be surprised how many will show up to help if you are in over your head.
For me it started during the COVID lockdown. Many in my line of work got ask to cut and sew hundreds (thousands) of facemasks and when they run out of volunteers, I helped to deliver them as well. For the first time I visited a homeless shelter and a shelter for battered women. I came in contact with a group called http://www.isupportthegirls.org, a charity that collects gentle used bras for women in need (because bras are expensive, so are female hygiene products). I set up a donation bin infront of my house and made advertisement for it. :). “I want you bras” that was the subject line I used at Nextdoor and it attracted many. Every night my donation box was full. Again, it was the women in my neighborhood or reacted instantly. You can to read about it here https://nonsmokingladybug.wordpress.com/2020/12/31/a-review-of-my-year/
thanks for your helpful reply. It feels like really dark times to me right now and i desperately need some small glimmers of light. I will start to dig around and see what i can find with the idea that it can possibly growing from there. I do remember your other post and thought of how nice it was you had a community like that. so, you have inspired me to start looking around for different ways to help. i just need to dig. thanks for inspiring me and for continuing to provide glimmers with your posts
A glimmer to brighten my day, Bridget. Thank you for sharing it.
It brightened my day as well and I happily shared.
OMG, what a heartbreaking story, Bridget. And then a heartwarming ending, or at least as heartwarming as it can be. Thanks for sharing it.
I hate what this girl had to go through, but like you, I am glad people got together to help her.
I hope they also helped her get a copy of her birth certificate She is a wonderful girl, giving away some of what she received. I am sure she is grieving her mom, and always will, but I’m glad she has her grandparents to stay with.
I am sure the grandparents will help her getting her documents together. They all went through so much heartbreak, so it was nice to see them all smile for a change. The girl will never forget and the way she reacted shows that she has a big heart. It will grow bigger with time -and stronger.
Thank you for your post and for these words, Bridget: “A life can be changed by a small difference one of us makes.” 💕
It’s so true and gladly we can see it every day…somewhere in action.
Thank you, Bridget! 💕