The Kindness of Strangers

Dear Lila,

I grew up in Pittsburgh, a friendly city where neighbors say hi to each other on the street and store clerks go out of their way to help you find what you're looking for. Then I moved to New York City, where neighbors don't even know each other's names and store clerks will stand less than a foot away from you staring off into space while you struggle to hold the door open and push your Cadillac of a stroller through (and when you dare to ask them for help, they glare at you for interrupting their daydream about Chris Pine). I am from a friendly city, so I am inherently friendly. Daddy grew up in New York and while he is not rude, he is definitely not as affable as I am. Like Daddy, you and your brother are native New Yorkers but I hope you inherit more of my open friendliness because, while cliche, a little does go a long way.

We have been having a brutal winter characterized by bitter cold temperatures, endless snow and dangerous hailstorms. The sidewalks are covered in sheets of ice and many of the crosswalks are not shoveled, so pushing you in the stroller to pick GuhGaw up from school has been a big challenge. So today, I decided that we would take the bus to get Connor but that was an ordeal in and of itself. The bus stop is only two blocks away from our house but helping you maneuver the slippery sidewalks and slushy snowbanks--while making sure I didn't fall, either--took awhile and we missed two buses on our way to the stop. Once we reached the stop, we had to wait more than 10 minutes in the freezing cold for the next bus and when it arrived, it was so packed that we could barely get in. That's when the kindness of strangers made such a difference.

Once we got on the bus, a woman helped me hold you while I put my Metrocard in the machine so that you wouldn't fall down while the bus was moving. Then, another woman sitting in the first seat near the door stood up so that I could sit down and put you in my lap. I'd never taken the bus to Connor's school before and the bus driver helped me find the closest stop. After we picked up GuhGaw, we were waiting for a bus to go back home and the first bus that came said, "Next Bus Please" but it stopped for us anyway. After we got on, I noticed that it was the same driver who had taken you and me to the school. He didn't stop at the other bus stops, even though people were waiting at them, until he got to the stop we needed; he actually wasn't supposed to have stopped to pick us up near the school, but I think he wanted to help out the mom waiting in the freezing cold with two little kids. I was seriously touched by his--and everyone's--kindness, which turned what could have been an awful task into a much more manageable one. It makes me feel so good to see such caring people like that and I hope that you and Connor will always do whatever you can to make other people feel the same goodness.

Love,
Mom