Maybe People Don’t Suck As Bad You Think

Lately it seems like all I hear about is how awful people are, shooting up elementary schools and bombing children with chemicals. I turned off the television last night and went to bed feeling sad and icky, but this morning it just continued. It’s a relentless parade of sociopaths and politicians, hate and selfishness, making the good people argue and point fingers at each other. My kid has cancer, in case you didn’t hear…I don’t have the mental stability OR emotional fortitude to deal with that stuff right now.

So, the television off, my phone out of my hand charging somewhere, I had a cup of coffee, got my big kids off to school and then just held my baby. I let him sleep on me, drool down my neck, and then scoot around throwing baby wipes and I felt a little better.  I was ready for a day of writing and hiding out at home. Maybe I’d eat some ice cream.

Then I got a phone call. It was Kids Mobility Network, saying that they’d like to fit Cameron for his gait trainer this afternoon. Cam had had a stroke during one of his surgeries last year and now he was a two-year old, with all the energy and destructive tendencies that implies, but without the ability to walk. He needed some wheels, and now they were ready. The last thing I felt like doing was leaving the house, driving in traffic and interacting with other “adults” but I loaded Cam into the mini van and took off down Arapahoe.

Turns out the mobility people are super cool, friendly but also running a non profit that helps special needs kids get into safe equipment like wheelchairs and walkers. While they were washing up Cam’s new gait trainer (kind of like a fancy baby walker, but with safety straps and lime green bars) I got a tour of their storage area, with hundreds of wheelchairs, bath chairs, car chairs, swings, you name it, all for disabled children. These people help out kids like my Cameron all the time…These are good people!!!

There are decent people out in the world. What a relief.

This happened to me last year too, when Cam was really going through the hard parts of surgery and chemo. Just as I was sinking, feeling hopeless and desperate, someone would pop up out of nowhere and bring us dinner or donate some money so I could stay home with him one more day. And then there were the organizations, like St. Baldrick’s and Alex’s Lemonade Stand who raise money for cancer research and my friend’s non profit Labor of Love, who makes home improvements for people having disasters, and Christopher’s Haven, who houses kids with cancer while they get treatment in Boston. Every few days I’d meet another individual or group that actually gave a crap.

So, I have to apologize to the universe. I really can be dense and I’m embarrassed that I forgot that those people exist. In fact, if you think about it, there are organizations and people for all kinds of amazing causes- animal rights, the homeless, military veterans- the list goes on and on, and if you add it all up, that makes for a lot of amazing humans.

It’s easy to focus on the negative stuff, the newsworthy drama that earns ratings. It’s easy to forget the kind, dedicated people who give themselves every day to help make our world a better place.

There is hope for humanity. I just wish my kid didn’t have to get cancer for me to realize it.