What Would You Do?

I just celebrated my first Mother's Day!! I went out to dinner with my hubby and Princess, and I also visited my mom. It was a jam packed weekend. But, that's not all I did. As I mentioned before, I was asked to be a guest speaker at the Bayview Housing Community Center in Brooklyn, my old neighborhood. It felt great to be back!! I remember attending summer day camp at P.S. 272 back in the day. Needless to say, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to stop by for a visit. I was asked to say a few encouraging words to mothers and grandmothers living in the area. I went there hoping to inspire, but ended up being inspired by them. There was one lady in particular who left me thinking. I can't remember her name, but I will never forget her story.

She entered the room with a huge cast on her leg and what looked like a cane on wheels. After my speech, I went over to say hello. We struck up a conversation which led to her telling me about how she ended up in the cast. She said that about two months ago, she was visiting a friend in Far Rockaway. She went on to say that her friend decided to cook them dinner. While the food was on the stove, there was a knock at the door. The friend went to answer the door and forgot all about the food on the stove. To make a long story short, the woman I was speaking with said that she ended up falling asleep on the couch. She later woke up to a smoke filled apartment. She said she had a choice, either burn to death or jump out of a four story window. She chose to JUMP!

She leaped out of the window feet first, and that was how she landed. Fyi, many of the apartment buildings in the city don't have fire escapes. It's designed to keep fires contained within the apartments. So, there was no fire escape for her to climb down. She says it was either burn to death or break some bones. She obviously chose the latter. She said that all she kept thinking about were her three young children. When I asked what happened to her friend, she said that she was ok. I also asked if she blamed her for what happened. She said no, it was an accident. All is forgiven.


She may have a while to recover from her shattered heel and broken pelvis. But she is alive, which led me to ponder to myself. If I were in the same situation, would I jump too? Of course... but I can't lie, it would be hard to forgive my friend. I know that forgiveness is a powerful thing. However, it's not always easy to do. What would you do? Would you take your chances and jump? Would you forgive your friend?


Weather Anchor Mama