By Scott Westerman (Audio)
Pivotal moments can be influenced by one friend. Be that friend whenever you can. You never know when those moments may come to pass.
This story, one of those viral tales that found it’s way to my browser, illustrates difference one friend can make.
My daughter, when she was younger, got invited to the birthday party for one of the kids at her daycare. I didn’t know the kid or her parents, maybe they were new, but everyone at the day care was cool and my daughter was never one to turn down a party, so we went.
It was at a McDonald’s which was odd because most of the parents at the daycare threw “rent out the children’s museum” parties. (We’re not rich but the daycare was in a… well-off town).
When we walked in we saw the birthday girl and her brother sitting at a table with some people who were probably uncles – no other kids. The birthday girl popped up in delight when she saw my daughter.
Luckily my daughter is like the social director on a cruise ship so she only needs like a couple of sticks, a few crayons, and one or two other people to make a party with shockingly high production value and a robust story line. No idea where she got that from, my personality is terrible.
That girl, her brother, and my kid played for about 2 hours straight at full volume. Her dad was so thrilled that he kept offering to buy me food. And at one point I might’ve caught a glimpse of her mom having a brief happy cry in the hallway, but if I did, I pretended I didn’t.
Sometimes, one friend is more than enough to make a day special.
In moments like these, the power of friendship can ripple well beyond the one.
