By Debbie Meehan
As I sit down to write my column this month I do so with a heavy heart with the news of the tragic helicopter crash of Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna, Christina Mauser, Sarah and Payton Chester, John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli and pilot Ara Zobayan. I mention all of their names because on that helicopter was not only a basketball legend who was larger than life to most but I’m certain that everyone that was on that helicopter was larger than life to those who loved them.
Stories in the headlines such as this one brings us to a shared place of grief where we not only feel horrible and terribly sad for all those lost but it reminds us again how incredibly fragile life can be and how the simple task of getting home safely is one we all take for granted.
While I was eating dinner the other night with my family, my daughter looked at me and said, “Can we just turn off the news mom, I can’t hear another bad thing.” And she was right. The headlines of the past week not only nationally but right here in our surrounding towns were just so tragic and we just needed something good to think about for a while, something that didn’t break our hearts or make us angry; we needed something positive to give us a little break from the bad and I knew exactly what story I could share with them to remind them of the blessings we have in this life.
Earlier that day, I headed to Town Hall to meet up with two very special little girls named Emily and Sophia, along with their families. Sophia, who was turning six the next day, was the little girl who lived in the Colonia home where the plane crashed and destroyed all the family’s belongings, including all of Sophia’s toys. Emily, 7, is the little girl of one of the Woodbridge Police Officers that was on the scene of the crash that day. Though they had never met, the fate of that dark day somehow intertwined their young lives together for the better.
After a long day on the job, Detective Mike Barbato went home to his family. He had to explain to his daughter about what had happened that day and that a little girl her age, who lived in the house, lost everything. Emily felt so sad for the little girl, she couldn’t imagine her losing all her toys, so she decided she wanted to help her. Over the course of the next couple of months, Emily sold over 500 little unicorn keychains at school fairs, St. Andrews Church in Avenel and took mail orders so that she could help Sophia buy new toys. One of Emily’s little school friends even donated his birthday money to help. Emily was on a mission of kindness to help a little girl she had never met or at least not until this past week.
On January 29, 2020, Sophia and her mom came into the chamber at Town Hall where Emily and her parents were busy putting together gifts to give to Sophia. The two girls were very quiet at first, but then Emily handed Sophia a bag with a big unicorn (they both loved unicorns), balloons and a check for $ 3,750.00 so that Sophia could buy new toys. Emily also handed Sofia a box that she wanted her to bring to her classmates. Within the box were little plastic bags that had a unicorn keychain, and a picture of Emily with a note that read;
Hi, My name is Emily and I am 7 years old. I recently sold these keychains as an act of kindness for your friend and classmate, Sofia. I would like to give one to each of you as a reminder to always be kind!
After Emily finished handing Sophia all the gifts, the little girls hugged each other with quiet giggles and large smiles as we all stood there crying watching a friendship unfold before us that was brought to life out of simple kindness.
Simple kindness…seems like such an easy thing to give. If only we as adults could learn from children like Emily, and others like her, to make time to do things for others without expecting anything in return except maybe… a hug and a giggle.
Pass kindness forward….it’s the best thing you can do for your soul!