Beth Bornstein Dunnington
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A Circle Of Women

February 2, 2018

Something extraordinary at LAX today… (writing this on the plane). I was at the gate, waiting to get on my plane to Portland. Flights to two different cities were boarding on either side of the Portland fight. A toddler who looked to be eighteen or so months old was having a total meltdown, running between the seats, kicking and screaming, then lying on the ground, refusing to board the plane (which was not going to Portland). His young mom, who was clearly pregnant and traveling alone with her son, became completely overwhelmed… she couldn’t pick him up because he was so upset, he kept running away from her, then lying down on the ground, kicking and screaming again. The mother finally sat down on the floor and put her head in her hands, with her kid next to her still having a meltdown, and started crying.

Then, this gorgeous thing (I’m crying just writing this)… the women in the terminal, there must have been six or seven of us, not women who knew each other, approached and surrounded her and the little boy and we knelt down and formed a circle around them. I sang “The Itsy Bitsy Spider” to the little boy… one woman had an orange that she peeled, one woman had a little toy in her bag that she let the toddler play with, another woman gave the mom a bottle of water. Someone else helped the mom get the kid’s sippy cup out of her bag and give it to him. It was so gorgeous, there was no discussion and no one knew anyone else, but we were able to calm them both down, and she got her child on the plane.

Only women approached. After they went through the door we all went back to our separate seats and didn’t talk about it… we were strangers, gathering to solve something. It occurred to me that a circle of women, with a mission, can save the world.

I will never forget that moment.

A Moment in Line

1/15/2019

 
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​A moment in Longs Drugs in Hawai’i.
 
The cashier, a young woman who looked to be in her twenties, was having a hard time. I was returning something and exchanging it for something else, and she didn't know how to do that, or she entered it incorrectly in the cash register, and a big line was forming behind me.
 
I told her I'd come back another time, that it was no big deal, but she said she was already in the middle of the transaction and she would call a manager for an override. She did that, twice, but the manager didn't come, and the line was getting longer and longer (they were clearly short on cashiers), and she was getting upset.
 
The manager finally came and solved it, but she was thrown off by the big line that had formed. As I was gathering my stuff and the next person moved up to the register... an elderly man who had been waiting patiently... she said, "I'm sorry for the wait," and he said, "Oh, I don't mind. You're my favorite cashier!"
 
And she, visibly surprised, said, "Me?"
 
He said, "Yup. I always look for you. I always stand in your line."
 
And the whole thing turned around for her. In a second, just like that, like it had been scripted. I was so glad it took me a while to gather my stuff so I could witness this interaction before I walked out. A small act of kindness but it made her so happy, and there was a huge line at that point.
 
Kindness. Especially when someone's having a rough time.
 
All the difference. 

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  • Home
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  • Waking Up In Hawai'i Blog
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