After a very difficult divorce last year, I decided to sell my home and move closer to my parents. While I was packing, my home caught fire because of a mistake I made by placing a box too close to a heater. My children's bedrooms were the most badly damaged in the fire. They lost everything. The insurance company refused to pay, and I have had the task of rebuilding since. I saw the loss of my children's clothes and toys as the most tragic thing their little lives should have to ever endure and I was torn up inside. We had just moved to a new town, living in a rent house with only a futon. We were at their new school to enroll and my daughter saw a jar sitting outside the office for donations to help victims of Katrina. She immediately dug into her backpack and got her 65 cents the tooth fairy had left her the night before and dropped it in the jar. When my son saw what she was doing, he asked me to loan him some money and he would pay it back when he lost his next tooth. They had seen someone in greater need than they saw themselves in and did the right thing. There are very few adults with the wisdom of those 9- and 8-year old children who still sleep on second hand mattresses and wear hand-me-down shoes.
Submitted by Anonymous
We've all had people in our lives who have made a positive impact on us. A parent or grandparent, a sibling who was there for us, or maybe even just a guy who shines shoes for a living? Whoever they are, tell us their story so they can inspire us even more.
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