(I’m at work and feeling incredibly lousy. I went to the hospital last night for an ongoing migraine and in the mix of meds they gave me to help, Benadryl was one. This results in me being sluggish and tired, and on top of that, my head still hurts, so I’m not at the top of my game. I’ve been told today that I look like h***, too. An hour or so before closing, a family I went to school with comes in with their young son who is talking up a storm. He eventually walks past where I’m currently straightening up stock and says something that really lifts my spirits.)

Kid: “You’re really pretty, miss. I like you. You’re always nice to me.”

(This causes me to tear up a bit, and I turn to the parents.)

Me: “Can I hug your son?”

Mom: “Of course! Sweetie, the nice lady wants a hug.”

Kid: “But… you’re working. Won’t you get in trouble?”

Me: *in a sneaky voice* “Not if the boss doesn’t see.”

(He eagerly comes and gives me a hug, which I happily return.)

Me: *to him* “Thanks for your kind words, kiddo. You have no idea how much I needed that today.” *to parents* “You guys are doing an amazing job raising him. Thank you.”

(The parents thanked me in return and I got the kid a candy bar. I still felt horrible, but the kid’s words really helped my morale.)

(I’m standing in line behind a small girl and her parents. I’m Caucasian while they are of a much darker ethnicity, but this isn’t uncommon as my city is quite diverse.)

Little Girl: *looks over at me shocked* “What’s wrong with your hair?!”

Me: *panicked* “Wh-what’s wrong with it?”

Little Girl: “Why’s it such a weird colour?”

(I’m blonde, and this isn’t weird for my area at all, but I laugh realizing this little girl might not have a lot of exposure to blonde hair as some ethnic groups keep to themselves. The parents are flustered at their outspoken child.)

Me: *laughing* “It’s okay. I was born with it like this.”

Little Girl: “Oh…” *pauses, thinking for a moment, then tugs at me to whisper* “I like your hair. It’s really pretty!”

Me: *heart melting, whispers back* “I like yours, too! You’re awesome!”

(Kids are awesome.)

There is a scenic overlook close enough to our house that we generally take the drive every fall and spring. There are breathtaking vistas about every three miles. My middle child has disabilities and can get overwhelmed by things. She doesn’t particularly like heights but will look out the window each time we pull over to take pictures. She is content, though, to stay in the van with the door open.

At one stop, I was taking pictures when I heard a large group of motorcycles roll in. I knew what would happen next.

Sure enough, when I turned around, my child had unbuckled, jumped out of the van, and run over to the bikers. She loves motorcycles and those who ride them. She doesn’t talk much but can say, “Oooh! Nice!” clearly.

I walked over and listened to the bikers telling my daughter about their bikes and asking her what she thought of each.

I asked if I could take a picture of them all and they all smiled and posed. My very short daughter, clad in pink, was surrounded by men and women in black leather. They all smiled brightly for the shot.

Then, each handed me their cell phones so they could get a picture of their own.

We chatted on that vista for another fifteen minutes or so. My daughter sat on one man’s bike while he and I discussed the best lunch destinations nearby.

My daughter was disappointed that she didn’t get to ride off with her new friends, but she was happy enough to get hugs and high-fives before we went our separate ways.

My fiance and I are planning to elope and although I want to wear a nice dress, I don’t want to go all out and spend a significant amount on a branded wedding dress. I go online and find a nice, white maxi dress with some sparkles on it that is within my budget, and when it arrives it fits well but is slightly too long. Not an issue; I just go to the tailor to get it shortened.

The tailor I find is in the mall and they ask me to put on the dress so they can pin it. When I step out of the changing room, I see a little girl — maybe four or five years old — stopping right in front of the shop, tugging at her mum’s shirt with eyes wide open exclaiming, “Mummy, look! It’s a FAIRY!”

It absolutely made my day and made me smile extra wide on my wedding day!

I teach ESL via an online school. Due to being a remote virtual job, with students in countries with unreliable Internet service, having technical difficulties is a common occurrence. Usually, I can make it work, but sometimes it gets in the way of class.

One day, I had a new student, and from the beginning, the tech problems were a nightmare. It alternated between him not being able to see or hear me, me not being able to see or hear him, the slides not working, or the slides working but only for one of us. The classes are only thirty minutes long, but we only spent about ten percent of that doing class.

Of course, once the problems were finally fixed, we had only a minute of class time left! I apologized to the student, who was about ten years old, that we couldn’t do a proper class and said I would see him next time.

Just as the system timed out and sent me to a new class, the student, who had sat patiently through everything, just smiled and said, “Thank you; I had fun. Goodbye! I love you!” and then blew me a kiss!

I was so surprised, but also touched. It made the rest of the sessions, which were no better technology-wise, a bit easier to handle.