Finding Kindness On Our Find Your Pride Tour

As I sit and reflect on the Mid Drift travels from the past three weeks, one extremely profound realization surfaces in that we have been so graced by human kindness. Sure we were honked at several times in NYC, dismissed by a rude hotel manager in Nashville, and stared at several times when our kids were acting obnoxiously in public. But I am so humbled and grateful for the kindness that we were offered throughout these travels, and these simple (yet memorable) human interactions outshine the visits to the Statue of Liberty or Lincoln Memorial. Interestingly enough, a majority of these acts were performed by strangers that we'll likely never see again! In the Creative Writing course that I teach, one of our projects in the poetry unit is to construct a "list poem," so I figured this would be a perfect opportunity to practice what I preach in the classroom and show respect for some of the people that made our journey what it was...

Melissa and Diana...surprising us with delicious home made tomato basil soup in Chicago,

Kelly and family...leaving us a key to their home in Pittsburgh after not being in touch for 20 years,

Mandy...giving us a lovely place to stay in New York City for over a week,

Random photographer...having the patience to take our family photo in Times Square,

Woman on the NY subway...offering my children a seat during peak hours at 42nd Street,

Presenters/Fam in Brooklyn...donating your time and energy to a challenging event in Bushwick,

Elizabeth...setting up impromptu events and offering my family lunch at Nurture Brooklyn,

Concierge...going above and beyond to give my family free movie tickets at World Trade Center,

Bartender...making and re-filling "Shirley Temples" for my kids to drink at the beer garden,

David...picking up an expensive tab after a delightfuI Italian meal with family in Brooklyn,

Val...driving across Manhattan traffic without notice to watch our kids and give us a date,

Darlene...allowing my children to pet her four dogs and giving us museum tips in Central Park,

Man in the urban garden...offering my family a blanket to sit on at an outdoor screening in Harlem,

Man at Jersey convenient store...giving a slushee to Maeve even though she was a quarter short,

Peltons...welcoming us in their home, sharing food and love in DC,

Presenters in DC...sharing your positive energy and wisdom in an intimate gathering at Viva,

Soldier...taking the time to explain to my family the purpose of a ceremony in Arlington Cemetery,

Elderly Man...doing canon balls into the pool to bring my kids joy at a hotel in Knoxville,

Blooma Nashville...offering space, warmth, and a platform to spread our word in Tennessee,

Hotel employee...giving my family PB chocolate cookies and waters for the road in Brentwood,

Vicki...making us 75 cent margaritas with smiles and grace in a hotel in Paducah,

Emma...opening her home to a family of six and becoming a new friend in St. Louis,

Barista...giving me free steamed milk for Angie's Chai at a coffee shop in Shaw,

Jacob...lending my family tools to dig geodes in a quarry in Hamilton, Illinois.

To all I left out...your kindness makes this movement possible.