A Kind Stranger Rescues The Stranded Teddy Bear

Yesterday, my youngest three children went to a birthday party. In the party favors that they brought home, they each got a small teddy bear. My four year old was thrilled with his as it was green and had a little soccer ball on its chest. He took it to bed with him last night, brought it to breakfast with him this morning, and was taking it to school with him today too.

Unfortunately, while we were waiting for the bus on the way to his school, he decided to throw his teddy bear into the air over and over, and, during one of those throws, it landed on top of the bus stop's shelter. There was no way I could reach it to get it down. I am only 5'2" tall. I tried putting one of his sisters on my shoulders but they still weren't tall enough on my shoulders to reach it. I couldn't even see the teddy bear up there unless I stepped back really far from the bus shelter and stood on my tippy-toes.

I took a very sad four year old to school. I hated seeing him so sad about it, so I decided to try again to get it down when I got home. Once I got back home, I went inside and got the pole with hook that we have for opening out skylights and went back to the bus stop.

Even with the long pole with the hook, I could not rescue the teddy bear. I thought maybe my husband, being 6'8" tall, might be able to have better luck when he got home, but he wouldn't be home until after 5:00pm, and it looked like it was going to rain.

This is where the kind stranger comes in; a man was walking towards my direction. Before he got to me, he was about to cross the street, but he saw my struggling to try and get the teddy bear down, so instead of crossing the street and continuing to wherever it was he was going, he came over to me and asked if I would like some help. I told him about the teddy bear, and he quickly took the pole and started helping.

In three tries, this man succeeded in getting the teddy bear down from the top of the bus shelter, and I thanked him with a big smile. He then continued on to his original destination. It was so kind of him to stop and help, and I knew I had to share his kind deed here.

I don't know who he was, but I am pleased to find people in this world who are willing to take a moment out of their daily lives to help someone else. And my four year old is going to be so happy when I pick him up from school and show him that his teddy bear has been rescued!

Make A Wish Experience (guest post)

Here is a guest post from Constanza Ehrenhaus. Constance is a freelance illustrator who loves fantasy art, cooking and is now also a stay home mom. Her art can be found in several websites, including Deviantart and she writes a blog focused in art and cooking. Soon she will also be blogging about saving the environment and your money at Sensibly Green.

Until I got pregnant with my first child I was a volunteer for Make a Wish. Make a Wish is a foundation that grants wishes to children that have a life threatening disease and that is a cause I can identify with. They work hard to bring those children and their families a happy experience away from the doctors, medicine and hospitals.

One time we had to work with this 6 year old girl who had leukemia. Her wish was to go on a shopping spree, and one of the things shopping sprees include is going to dinner with your family to a restaurant of your choice. She chose to go to Red Lobster, in Monroeville, PA. Once we were done shopping, the other volunteer and I rushed to the red lobster to prepare an extra surprise for that girl; it was her birthday and we had cake, balloons and decorations for her. I had called in advance explaining to the manager that we were fulfilling a wish and they were waiting for us. They gave us a special table, gave us special attention, and, once we started singing the happy birthday, all of the Red Lobster staff came out singing happy birthday to this little girl! They had gathered in the back of the kitchen and put some money together to give her as a gift. This spontaneous demonstration moved me very much. They all wanted to be part of that very special moment.

Once we were done and the family was ready to go back home, the other volunteer and I started to pick up the mess left after the small celebration. Once more the staff came out, the manager and the waiters, and they thanked us for what we were doing! They started to tell us how great we were; one of the waiters had previously had a great experience with Make a Wish because his little sister had been very sick before, and they started to share stories. I was so touched by their generosity and amazing attitude, after all they had done for us and that girl, they came to say thank you.

I have no words to describe the incredible sensation of happiness and warmth that they made me feel. They are the kind of people that give me hope for this world, and I hope they are blessed threefold for their acts of love that day.