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dmjewelleOne day I saw this article about nominating a single mother for a one week trip to London & Paris and a contest form.
I have a colleague who's a single mother.
She had just told me about how she wanted to go to London but couldn't because she couldn't afford it, and even though her mother insisted on paying for the tickets, she didn't want to keep depending on the charity of her parents, and how she'd love to be able to go.
So I pushed my luck. The contest requires a short essay on why the single mother I nominate deserves the prize. That's not easy you know - all single mothers deserve a holiday! So I machinegunned 300 words in 24 hours (because you know how last-minute I am!) and sent in my entry just before the weekend to make sure it'd reach; It was snail mail after all.
Today I got a phone call.
I won consolation prize. My colleague's gonna get vouchers mailed to her.
Azmi: So what's the grand prize?
Me: Trip to London!
Azmi: So consolation means they'll drop her off at the highway and watch the plane take off? XD
Me: ROFL XDXDXD
Some colleagues asked me what do I get, and frankly. I'm not sure at all. Sure the form said I get a MYSTERY PRIZE, but it doesn't matter.
I made someone else's day using an ability I actually had. I have never been happier.
My nominee is a truly deserving single mother because I just want to see her smile.
Maridah works in a hospital laboratory, where how much you earn comes from how many hours you put into it, and she puts in a LOT of hours. When I leave work on Saturday afternoons, she walks in for the afternoon shift until night. On Monday morning I see her leave the building after a fifteen-hour night shift, looking forward to a warm bed and the smiling faces of her two young sons until the next morning. To supplement her income, she used to tutor children. Even when money is scarce and the bills pile up, I have never seen her approach anyone for money. I know it hurts her to be unable to provide her sons with everything they want, but she just smiles her troubles away and I see her working again that weekend.
Maridah has had a rough year – a failed relationship, being taken advantage of, and unsupportive people had brought her close to a nervous breakdown. Maridah has never needed people to help financially because while money keeps a person going, emotional support keeps a person alive. Anybody can borrow money; it takes strength like Maridah’s to admit she is only human, and she feels the same pain as we do, and that she needs a different kind of support, one unheard of in an Asian society.
Maridah’s job has her attending to patients, and she always does it with a smile on her face and a laugh in her voice. For all the smiling and laughing she does for other people, I hope that this trip will let her smile for herself.
I think she should have that luxury, at least.
I have a colleague who's a single mother.
She had just told me about how she wanted to go to London but couldn't because she couldn't afford it, and even though her mother insisted on paying for the tickets, she didn't want to keep depending on the charity of her parents, and how she'd love to be able to go.
So I pushed my luck. The contest requires a short essay on why the single mother I nominate deserves the prize. That's not easy you know - all single mothers deserve a holiday! So I machinegunned 300 words in 24 hours (because you know how last-minute I am!) and sent in my entry just before the weekend to make sure it'd reach; It was snail mail after all.
Today I got a phone call.
I won consolation prize. My colleague's gonna get vouchers mailed to her.
Azmi: So what's the grand prize?
Me: Trip to London!
Azmi: So consolation means they'll drop her off at the highway and watch the plane take off? XD
Me: ROFL XDXDXD
Some colleagues asked me what do I get, and frankly. I'm not sure at all. Sure the form said I get a MYSTERY PRIZE, but it doesn't matter.
I made someone else's day using an ability I actually had. I have never been happier.
My nominee is a truly deserving single mother because I just want to see her smile.
Maridah works in a hospital laboratory, where how much you earn comes from how many hours you put into it, and she puts in a LOT of hours. When I leave work on Saturday afternoons, she walks in for the afternoon shift until night. On Monday morning I see her leave the building after a fifteen-hour night shift, looking forward to a warm bed and the smiling faces of her two young sons until the next morning. To supplement her income, she used to tutor children. Even when money is scarce and the bills pile up, I have never seen her approach anyone for money. I know it hurts her to be unable to provide her sons with everything they want, but she just smiles her troubles away and I see her working again that weekend.
Maridah has had a rough year – a failed relationship, being taken advantage of, and unsupportive people had brought her close to a nervous breakdown. Maridah has never needed people to help financially because while money keeps a person going, emotional support keeps a person alive. Anybody can borrow money; it takes strength like Maridah’s to admit she is only human, and she feels the same pain as we do, and that she needs a different kind of support, one unheard of in an Asian society.
Maridah’s job has her attending to patients, and she always does it with a smile on her face and a laugh in her voice. For all the smiling and laughing she does for other people, I hope that this trip will let her smile for herself.
I think she should have that luxury, at least.
