My Friend Jessie

My mother sent this delightful snippet to me the other day... Enjoy...

You have a new little friend. Her name is Jessie, and she is 10 years old. We were in the Grecian House Restaurant tonight and were waited on by Crystal, whom I didn't know. She's a single mother and an RN currently out of work. A little girl, much too young to be working (I was wondering if she was even 12) came to pour us tea. I asked the waitress who she was and was told she was her daughter and came and helped out now and then.

When we went to pay, Jessie was there. She asked me if I had any children, as she fingered some free circus tickets on the wall. I said "Yes, but he's a lot older than you are." "Oh," she said, thinking a bit. "How old IS he?" "He's 32 years old, and he's in the Army." "Oh." She pulled her hand away from the tickets. Then A. said that you had children, so I said, "Yes, they are younger than you are." "Really?" she asked, hopeful again. "Yes, one is 7, one is 3 and one is 9 months old. "Oh, then you can..." She had a handful of tickets now. "Wait a minute," I said. "He's in the Army, and his family is in Germany." "Oh," she said again. "I guess they won't need these." A pause. "Then tell him he has my blessings." "I'll tell him," I replied. Then, "Is he, like, in the Iraq army?" "Sort of," I said. "He was in Afghanistan, but his wife is sick, so he came back home." "Oh." Another pause. "Then tell him he has my thanks for supporting our country." "I'll tell him." Then I hugged her and got a wonderful hug back.

That from a 10-year-old. Her mother was near but had been talking, so I told her she had a remarkable daughter and repeated the conversation. "Oh, she prays every night for our soldiers. And then I pray for all the sick people." So next time you say your prayers, add little Jessie and her mother Crystal.