Stranger or Friend?

Bemused,
Mad House.
My Life.

Re: A stranger is a friend you haven't met yet.

Dear Madam,

I saw you looking at us today. Even though you were standing behind me it was hard not to notice your sighs and ‘tut tut’s as my child cried in frustration from sensory overload. It would have been so much easier for me if you had just ignored us. He is not a naughty child, he has Autism. I am not a bad mother, I am a great mother doing the best I can to help my child.

Maybe you could have offered to help? Maybe you could have just chatted to me and assured me that all children have bad days, that I shouldn’t worry or become stressed. Being honest though, I don’t know how I would have reacted if you had been friendly to me.

I might have been abrupt, having wasted the morning on the phone trying to access services for my child, battling ‘the system’ that seems designed to frustrate parents at every turn.

I may have assured you that everything was ok and thanked you kindly for your offer.

Or I might have burst into tears because one stranger cared enough about another to be kind and understanding. Sometimes kindness has that unexpected (and embarrassing) effect.

I might have hugged you and had a chat because I don’t get to talk to others very often anymore. It is just too much effort to leave the house most days and I seem to spend so much of my time catering to therapy for my special needs child.

I suppose we won’t ever know which way it could have gone, but think about it for the next time you come across the situation. You see, a small kindness goes a long way. Regardless of how I might have reacted to you, don’t doubt that I would have genuinely appreciated your thought and effort.

After all, a stranger is a friend you haven't met yet.

Yours faithfully,

Jen.