When The Best Is Brought Out In People...

...it makes all the difference.

Since my husband and I separated, there are a lot of little things that I never did - that I do - not happily - but I do.

The blizzard that ripped through Northern VA was one of those things where I would have ooohed and ahhed at the snow, and made hot chocolate while my husband went out and shoveled my truck out the drifts.

I put it off allllll day, knowing that I only had one shovel, a bad back, an asthmatic child who couldn't help me a lot ... and me.

Went outside with my shovel and my broom, to see a tiny brigade of husbands digging out not only their own cars and the cars of their wives....but ME!!!...and a couple of other Moms who are single. All I had to do was take my broom and get the snow off the truck.

Thank you seemed so insufficient, but they all smiled and waved and kept shoveling, telling me not to TOUCH a shovel as they didn't want me to hurt my back.

I went inside and came back out with 16 ounce piping hot Styrofoam cups of hot chocolate..and you would have thought I'd whipped out cash, they were so appreciative.

As many times as I moan and groan about missing the camaraderie and neighborly spirit of my block in Queens where I grew up ... I realized that I completely missed that I'd found the same thing right here in Northern VA.

I don't see these gentlemen a whole lot, as we all have different schedules and busy lives, but that didn't seem to matter a whole lot, as they helped a newly single Mom and her son out yesterday.

The camaraderie and neighborly spirit has been here all along.