One day while I was working on the blog I noticed a young woman sitting down at the table beside me. She had a huge bag, which she pulled a laptop, books, and lots of other stuff from. She smiled at me so and I noticed her attractive glasses and said, “The glasses make you look smart”
She laughed and said “Thanks. I like yours too,” extending her hand to shake mine in greeting.
As we talked it became clear that she was studying for college and that she was a Filipina. She was friendly but I needed to continue working so I said we would talk later. When I left I told her goodbye and she flashed a beautiful smile.
It was a week later when I came to the coffeehouse and she was there! I noticed that she had a small kid with her maybe a 5-year-old boy. I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable since we had only talked once, but I didn’t have to worry. When she saw me she smiled and I came over and talked. Her son who was playing on an iPad-like computer saw me and got out of his chair and said “I like to dance!” and showed me his skills.
“Oh you are a good dancer,” I replied. His mom laughed.
We spoke for a few minutes. She explained that it’s tough for a single mothers now, and I agreed. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have a minimum-wage job, go to college, and have a child. When I smiled at her again in my mind I was thinking “What a hero. When life gets tough you gear up and work harder.” Where do people find such strength? No matter what, she is already a hero for raising a child who has such joy and is so open to sharing with others.