Someone special is weighing very heavily on my mind today and I feel compelled to write about her. Years ago when I was about 22 or 23, I worked at a Payless Shoe Source. One day a family came in to the store with a little girl about five or six years old with long blond hair. They asked me to measure her feet for her so she could get some shoes. I was just going through the motions. I knelt down in front of the little girl to measure her foot. As I was looking down I asked her a question. I do not remember what I asked her.
The next thing I heard was one of the young ladies with the little girl said;
"Oh, she won't talk to you. We just got her. She's a Foster Child and she won't talk."
I looked up at the little girl. She looked me right in the eyes. To this day I have never seen a more pained look, a more disheartened look on anyone's face. I measured her foot as fast as I could. I immediately ran in the back room and started sobbing. My reaction surprised me because I had never experienced anything like it before. I felt her pain so strongly. My coworker was taken aback at my crying but I just couldn't seem to help it. I felt such strong sadness for that little girl.
I pulled myself together and when I went back out to the register, they were standing there paying for her shoes. The employee next to me said;
"Well, she is lucky to have you guys." And I said;
"She deserves to have them."
I was so upset. That little girl deserves to be loved and cared for. It shouldn't be about luck; should it?
I have thought of that little girl numerous times throughout my life. I have wondered how she is or if she is ok now. I think she would be about 22 now, maybe. It got me to thinking about people and how we interact with each other on a daily basis. One never really knows the impact they may have on another person's life in what seemingly is an ordinary day running errands.
To the beautiful little girl at Payless Shoe Source that day, I hope you are well. I have prayed for you throughout my life. I was honored and privileged to have met you so many years ago. XOXO
Debbie
About Me
- Debbie Livengood
- I am happily married to my husband Jim and we have two kids, Jessica and Justin. I have a neurological condition called generalized dystonia. This disorder which I was diagnosed with about three years ago has no cure. It causes the muscles to contract at the wrong times which is painful and limits my mobility. Dystonia is the worst and the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have learned so much and have a greater appreciation for my family and friends.