September 22, 2018
Yesterday, while I was helping my friend in his apparel booth at the Big E, I met a Dad and his young daughter, who by guess was just under two years old. She had the brightest smile and a light in her eyes that I could feel radiate in my chest like the warmth from the sun on an early spring day.
I couldn’t help but notice the obvious deformity in her feet, and was compelled to ask her father the cause. He described her rare disease that, among other symptoms, causes her feet to continue to grow. One foot, which had grown to be larger than a softball was no longer identifiable, and was being amputated in the coming weeks.
As her father candidly spoke, I exchanged glances with the young girl, who was very proud of her big feet. While seated in her stroller she held up her bare feet with her hands, as if offering to share them with me; And so I gently tickled her toes as we exchanged silly smiles. It was a connection I’m not soon to forget.
Her Dad, who thanked me for asking about her condition, had a remarkable outlook that I admired. It didn’t surprise me that the daughter had such a vibrant spirit as well. This was not a circumstance to be sad about. This child was an amazing person because of it, or in spite of it. It was a reminder that it’s not the circumstances we’re presented with that shape who we are, rather we have the ability to shape our circumstances.
I feel blessed to have met this young child, and to have been surrounded by the goodness that radiated from her young spirit.