I Gave My Late Husbands Jacket to a Freezing Veteran, A Week Later, I Got an Email Titled Regarding the Incident Outside the Grocery Store!

Sometimes I still see Thomas near the store, bundled up, laughing with employees while he waits for the bus to counseling. Sometimes I see people sitting where he once sat, and I stop—not always with money or coats, but with attention, with respect.

That winter taught me something I’ll never forget.

Kindness doesn’t always return as gratitude. Sometimes it comes back as responsibility. As a quiet door you never knocked on, opening anyway, asking if you’re willing to carry forward what you once gave away