The worst of times, the best of humanity...
We had a sad, unfathomable tragedy in our small town this week. The basics are this: these were our neighbors until they sold their house this Fall. They moved in with relatives on my mail route, so I still kept in touch with them as they began to build their dream home and add a new baby to their household of 3 young kids. Dad is the elementary school principal, mom is a coach, they were born and raised here, my son went to school with them and played a lot of basketball with the dad. They were so excited to be adding another girl to their growing family. Sadly, their world was rocked when the mom died in childbirth on Tuesday evening.
None of us can begin to imagine the hows or whys or what nows, yet this small town has stepped in to help in any way they can. A donation site was created and has raised OVER $100,000 in slightly more than 24 hours. As I watch the progress on their new home, I can't help but wonder what the future holds for them or any of us, yet I'm uplifted by the support and kindness of humanity. There's always good to be found, and I hope that they find some peace in knowing how much they are loved through the years ahead. (I'm not posting a link to the donation site, as the major news stations are beginning to follow the story.)
Hug your loved ones...that's all I have.