Life's Lessons

Okay, so I guess it was the summer before my freshman year i was dealing with things that no 14 year old should ever have to deal with and i began to act out. My life was alot harder than probably what met the eye. And i remember feeling soooo judged by church members, friends parents, relatives, the whole nine yards and nobody had any idea what i was going through. At that time i took a vow to try and never judge people. You have NO idea what their life is like and what they have to deal with on a daily basis. This, I'm pretty sure, is a downfall for everyone, so quick to judge. Some people make a hobby out of it. Well every once in awhile i have a rude reminder of this vow that i took. Today was defiantly one of those days. Since me and Daniel started building our house we noticed that the lady on one side of us was a single black woman that was never home and her kids always were. I was quick to judge. Felt bad for the kids, and automatically wrote the mom off as a bad mom and not worth my time. So i had yet to go introduce myself- I've met all the other neighbors, just never took the time to go talk to her. So tonight i get home from grocery shopping and decide to take my dog Moe on a walk. Her kids, a boy that's probably 8 and a little girl that was 4 were in the yard with there little dog so on the way back the dogs were kind of playing and the mom pulled up and was just getting home from work. So i introduced myself. I said "Hello I'm Courtney, your new neighbor, sorry i haven't introduced myself yet, I haven't really seen you around." She then began to tell me why she was never home and i was completely taken back. Her 4 year old daughter has a childhood cancer, neuroplasty, that is at stage 3. She has had multiple bouts with chemo, and will be starting another round this next week. About this time the little girls coat hood fell off her head a I realized she didn't have one hair on her head, no eyelashes or eyebrows, and my heart just sank into my stomach. She then continued to tell me that when she does chemo it wipes out all the good and bad so they are often in the hospital for weeks at a time. And when her little girl is doing okay in between the chemo rounds she is picking up extra shifts trying to make ends meet. As I turned to come back home i just started to cry. It is defiantly a reminder that you should never judge anybody. Life is so hard and life is defiantly not always as good as it may appear to just bystanders. I can't even imagine being in her shoes.