“I made a huge mistake today. My husband left for his first deployment this morning, and I was in the wrong area to see his ship leave for the final time. I jumped in my car and drove over to the park. By the time I got there, the ship was just leaving out of sight.
I started running with my ‘I love you’ sign in hand. I didn’t want to miss my last chance to see my husband off. I was running as fast as I could trying to chase after the ship to hold my sign up for George to see. I realized I wasn’t going to make it and I started crying while I was running. A gentleman on a bike saw what was going on and slowed down next to me. He said, “Please don’t cry, I can help.” He told me to hop on the back of his bicycle, and he would try to catch up.
He pedaled nearly a mile as fast as he could to get me to the end of the boardwalk where I caught the tail end of the ship leaving. After it had left, I had the mile long walk back to my car. I was still crying. A woman was walking with her husband after watching the ship pull out and came over to me. She noticed I was upset and said, “You look like you need a mom hug.”
She hugged me for a good 5 minutes before giving me her number in case I ever need anything. Still teary eyed, I continued to walk, and yet another wonderful woman ran up to hug me. She offered support and encouragement told me I would be ok. She told me her wife was on the ship and gave me her contact information as well and offered a helping hand and support if I ever need it.
I cannot express how grateful I am for these three people today. A simple act of kindness helped me so much and can make someone’s worst day a little bit brighter. Thank you to those three amazing people today.”
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