Skip to main content

Unexpected Kindnesses

Right now our family and a friends' family are on the road to  New Hampshire.  While we were leaving lunch I hard this great story.

While in the bathroom one woman noticed another one with a breast pump, frustratingly trying to find an outlet to plug into.  For those without kids, a breast pump is this odd contraption women strap to their chests to understand what a milk cow feels like. 

The hard part is that if a nursing mother doesn't feed their child or use their pump things get, shall we say, clogged up.  So husbands need to happily provide a way for our wives to pump every two or three hours so we avoid avoid pain and suffering.  Thankfully you can buy plugs for both the wall and the car, for use during long trips.

Turns out the woman in the restroom either lost or didn't have a car plug for her pump.  This other woman saw the pump and quickly understood the issue.

What's pretty neat about the story though is that the woman overhearing the problem had the same pump.  She quickly went out to her car and got the car plug she uses for her pump and loaned it to this other woman for the rest of their trip, simply offering the plug and address to return the plug sometime later.

That's it.  Two travelers crossing in a Friendly's in Connecticut.  Miles from home and heading in random directions.  One recognized anothers' problem and gave something of their own to help.

I swear, the best thing about road trips are the opportunities to we have to see different things and really sacrifice for a stranger.  How often do I really offer more than condolences and understanding of someone else's problem?

The neatest part of the story?  My wife is the one to give up her car plug for her pump.  I always said I married well.

Peace,
+Tom

Labels:

Comments

Miriam said…
Understanding the value of a perfect stranger loaning out a car plug for a breast pump to a needy mother on the road, I can attest that your wife is in deed an angel.
September 3, 2007 at 8:22:00 PM EDT
Anonymous said…
A wonderful story! Believe or not, I saw the ending coming before I got there. No suprise to me based on what you've shared about your wife already. We both know we married above our station, and God continues to bless us immensely through it. Thanks be to God! And Peace be with you and yours!
September 3, 2007 at 10:17:00 PM EDT
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Red-Gate SQL Compare

Every now and then I come across a program that becomes so ingrained in my daily work that I hardly know how I'd get by without it.  I'll probably break down a couple over the next few days, but for database work, I have never found anything as good as Red Gate's SQL Compare and SQL Data Compare .  Essentially these tools let you compare two SQL Server databases (all objects, users, permissions, functions, diagrams, anything) and update changes to whichever database you want.  This is amazingly useful for deploying database changes to a test or production environment (do it to production with ridiculous care, even though it will generate a SQL Script for you and run all updates in one transaction), and making sure everything is synchronized. For releases we can just generate the compare script, confirm that the changes match the updates we want to go out, and store it all in one place with the release details.  This is true for both the structure and the d...
6 comments
Read more

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Microsoft Access

I've answered this question in some form or another far more times than I care to count.  Most often it's a question of "why do I need a fancy Web application when I can just build this myself in two days in Access.  I mean, the data's already in Excel."  So I figured I'd post out what I threw together, I know I've missed some points. Overview Microsoft Access is an ideal solution for relatively small datasets and a limited number of users. From the Microsoft Web site: “As a desktop database, Access is well suited for small, departmental applications. These applications may start as one user’s project. For example, an employee realizes that productivity can be increased if a paper-based process is automated with an Access application. Other users in the department recognize that they can take advantage of the application if additional features are added. As more features are added, more employees run the application. As time goes by, more and more Access...
8 comments
Read more

Portrait Innovations

I mentioned in a previous post that I surprised Erin with pictures from Portrait Innovations of Rachel, Colin and (a few) of myself.  This generated more comments than 99% of my posts receive (read that as I received one comment).  Because both Erin and I have gone separately and had great experiences with the company, I figured I would spend a post explaining how it works, what's different from Sears and a professional photographer, and why I like them. Great Shots Erin and I went to Sears a LOT when Rachel was born.  We went every month to track her growth.  So far Colin's on an every 3 months cycle (second kid, life sucks, get over it and quit whining to me about being "fair").  One of the things with Sears that kind of bugged me was the set positions.  You know, laying on the floor with head propped on arms, sitting on stool cross legged.  While I think having some set poses are a good idea, at both Sears we've used, it's too extreme....
8 comments
Read more