Brighten Your Day

It rained here in southern California the other day.. and it caught a lot of folks off guard. Especially those living on the streets. I try to keep extra umbrellas in my vehicle and sleeping bags if I have some to spare. Im glad I had some of these items the other day during a rainstorm..

I have a toddler daughter who really wanted to get a “blenders “ smoothie, I thought for a bit about where to pick one up as we have multiple locations in our time. My eldest son was under the weather at home and also wanted one. I stopped by a location in the middle of town since I still had errands to run and these seemed like the logical place. Upon pulling in I saw a women under a big blue umbrella with a big dog. She was sitting on the ground on a wet looking blanket and had a backpack with her. She also had a sign that was not legible from my suv. I decided it didn’t matter what the sign said I could spare atleast a dollar. I grabbed my toddler and when we went last the lady I decided to give her the dollar. She said “ $29 more and I can get a hotel room tonight” … I wished her luck and went inside to get the smoothies . .

Upon exiting with our drinks I asked her if she needed a sleeping bag and she said that would be great. I grabbed a women’s sleeping bag I picked up at a second hand shop that was in amazing condition and gave it to her. I also offered her an umbrella for her items and her dog. She was happy to take my sore umbrella. I told her I wish I could have done more then walked away. When I got into my vehicle I realized I had $29 to give and it wouldn’t put me in a horrible position if I spared it. I got out of my car and handed it to her. She was ecstatic and asked me if I was sure. . I said yes please get out of the rain. She explained to me that she had a heart condition and last time she got sick she ended up in the hospital. She told me she was calling for a ride to get to the hotel. I left there knowing I did something for someone who was truly in need.