Today, I’m in the Marines and currently stationed in Korea. This morning it was particularly rainy and dreary. Before I was on duty while I was walking to work I decided to splash through a big puddle on the sidewalk like I used to do as a little kid. A Major stopped me and asked, “What are you doing, soldier?” I replied, “Letting my inner child out while I walk, Sir!” He smiled and said, “Carry on, soldier!” As he walked away he purposely jumped up and splashed a puddle himself, laughed, and walked out of sight. MMT

Today, as I was driving to work, a police cruiser in front of me suddenly put on its lights and stopped traffic on the road for no apparent reason. I was starting to get annoyed until I saw the policeman running back and forth across the street trying to convince a mother duck and her 11 chicks to get out of the road. MMT

Today, I work at a college where one of our commuter students lost her house in a fire. She has three children, including a 3-year-old boy. I offered to donate my 4-year-old son’s clothes that no longer fit. After bagging up the clothes and explaining that the clothes were going to be given to a little boy whose house burned down, my son went and got two of his toy Matchbox cars. He put them in the bag and said, “Now he’ll have some toys to play with too.” MMT

Today, I saw an older man sitting on a bench in Bryant Park wearing the same exact brand and style coat and boots I donated to a local charity for the needy this past holiday season. I’m not 100% sure they were the items I donated, but when I walked by the man I said, “Nice boots!” And he replied, “Thanks. A special someone gave them to me for Christmas.” MMT

Today, at the animal shelter where I volunteer, a little boy and his mom, who had adopted a kitten last week, came into our lobby carrying big bags full of food, toys, blankets, and other supplies we desperately need. The boy’s mom said, “Today is his birthday. Instead of birthday presents, he asked his dad and me to help donate to the shelter.” MMT

Today, my friend who works at the police dispatch called to tell me that the drunk driver who killed my daughter nine years ago was killed in a drunk driving accident. He was sober and on his way home from work when I drunk driver hit him. MMT

Today, I was expecting an important USPS package. I usually never get home from work in time to sign for my packages, so I always get the standard “pick up your package” slip. So today, to avoid this, I left work early and rushed home, only to find the slip in my mailbox. Bummed, I went into my room to relax for a few minutes and the doorbell rang. It was the mailman, who said, “I saw you drive into the neighborhood, so I came back to give you your package.” MMT

Today, on my way into a blood bank to donate blood, a little girl and her mom were standing outside. The little girl approached me and said, “Thank you sir. One year ago today I had leukemia. And it is great people like you, who donate blood, who saved my life.” MMT

Today, as my grandfather and I looked at old family photos together, including photos of my late grandmother, my grandfather said, “Nothing in this world is permanent. But don’t let that stop you from appreciating and loving what you have while you have it.” MMT

Today, I missed the last bus home by a matter of seconds. I was actually chasing the bus down the street, but I couldn’t get the driver’s attention. It was dark and cold outside, and I was exhausted. I literally fell to my knees in tears. Because I’m barely making ends meet, and a taxi fare to my house is nearly $70. But a few seconds later a woman named Jayden stopped her car on the side of the road, rolled down her window, and said, “I don’t usually do this, but do you need a ride? I’ve been in your shoes before and I know it sucks.” She gave me a ride all the way to my apartment, and we had a great conversation on the way that left us both smiling as I got out of her car. MMT

Today, I was serving a lady and her blind daughter. I didn't really pay too much attention to the blind girl’s condition. I simply chatted with her, took her order, and served her like I would anyone else. I really didn’t think anything of it. But when I went to collect their final bill, the lady had left me a 400% tip and wrote on the receipt, “Thank you for treating my daughter with respect and making her laugh. You made my day.” MMT

Today, I work at a high school as guidance counselor, and today was ‘music genre day.’ The principal and administrative staff encouraged teachers and students to dress (appropriately) in a way that symbolizes their favorite musical style. I dressed in the grunge style (a flannel shirt, jeans, and messy hair) much like I did in middle and high school. After work I stopped by the nursing home to see my grandmother who has Alzheimer's. And for the first time in almost two years, she recognized me! She said, “My sweet Katie!” as soon as she saw me. MMT

Today, I was in Central Park trying to write a new chapter in my novel. The writing was going at a snail's pace – I just couldn’t seem to type the right words. And I began to get frustrated and depressed. Then out of left field, an attractive woman sitting on a bench across the path from me got up, walked over to me, smiled, placed a paper on my table, and left without a word. It was a gorgeous sketch of me thinking and writing. I instantly smiled and wrote the rest of the chapter with a grin. And when I was done writing, I realized her name and phone number were written on the backside of the sketch. MMT

Today, I had my headphones on and was lost in thought as I was walking to work when someone suddenly tapped me on the shoulder. I looked up to see a girl that looked just like me staring back at me. It turns out that I have had an identical twin for the last two decades and didn’t even know it. We were both adopted by separate parents when we were infants, and our parents weren’t even aware of the other twin. This evening a helpful nurse at the hospital in Nicaragua where we were born looked up our old records and confirmed the fact that we were in fact twin sisters. MMT

Today, about an hour before he passed, my father told me he loved me for the first time since I came out 25 years ago. MMT

Today, I was clearing out a few really old boxes I had stored in my basement. In one of them I found an old POW-MIA bracelet I wore back in 1971 at an anti-war rally. The bracelet listed the full name of a missing U.S. soldier from the Vietnam War, Thomas Nelson Moe. One of my old high school teachers handed out these bracelets to all of her students, and everyone in the group I went to the rally with had a bracelet with a different POW-MIA’s name on it. When I found the bracelet today, curiosity got the best of me and I Googled ‘Thomas Nelson Moe.’ To my surprise, I found his name on a safely returned POW list, and several inspiring articles and interviews about his life thereafter. He returned home safely in 1973. MMT

Today, I celebrated my 80th birthday. When I was 32 I was diagnosed with cancer and told I had about a year left to live. As a last ditch effort I underwent chemotherapy treatment. Chemotherapy was still in its infancy back then. I’ve been cancer free ever since. MMT

Today, my bicycle tire popped on my way home from work. I was walking it along the side of the road when a car pulled over a few yards in front of me. A lady got out and said, “Hey, I own a bicycle shop downtown called New Spokes Bicycles. I have a spare tire in my trunk. Let me help you out, free of charge.” She then took a small toolbox and a new tire out of her trunk, changed my tire, gave me her business card, and drove away. MMT

Today, I was patiently waiting for a shaded parking spot at the mall when a guy cut me off and stole the parking spot I had been waiting for with my blinker on. I let it go and just parked farther out in an non-shaded spot. While I was shopping, a windy, loud thunder storm passed over the area. When I left the mall, a huge fallen tree branch had crushed the roof of the guy’s car who stole my spot. MMT

Today, I was at a baseball game with my girlfriend. It was the first game she had ever been to. She talked the whole time about wishing she could catch a home run. When a ball came soaring in our direction, a young teenage boy sitting in front of us caught it. He immediately turned around and offered it to my girlfriend and me. We thanked him and insisted that he keep the ball. But his kindness, especially at his age, MMT.

Today, I was at the grocery store when I saw a little girl being pulled through the store by a scruffy looking man. The little girl looked confused, and it just didn’t look right to me. So I ran up beside them and asked her if she knew the man. She said “no!” and then he started pulling her even faster. I screamed, “Help! Don’t let that man get away! That’s not his daughter! He’s kidnapping her!” He dropped her hand and ran out of the store. The manager then called her parents over the loud speaker. They had just realized their daughter was missing and were looking for her at the other side of the store. When the manager explained what happened, they paid for my groceries. MMT

Today, I went in for an interview for a teaching position at a high school in South Florida. I felt like I recognized the male interviewer, who was the Math and Science department head. Then towards the end of the interview, after lots of small talk, it became clear that the interviewer was my biological father. My mom had taken me and abandoned him when I was 5-years-old, and it was the first time I’d seen him in almost 20 years. We went out for coffee afterwards and caught up. And I got the job, so now I’ll have a lot of time to get to know my father, MMT

Today, it’s been two years nice my mom lost her battle with cancer. She was 40 at the time and I was 13. Since then her best friend, Joy, has treated me like her own daughter. She picks me up for school 3 days a week on the mornings my dad has to leave early, packs me lunches, takes me to doctor’s appointments, talks to me about the birds and the bees, etc. Recently I told her that I appreciate it, and she replied, “There’s no reason to thank me. As far as friends go, your mom was my soul mate. And although I decided to never have kids, I have one, you. I love you like my own daughter.” MMT

Today, my son is confined to a wheelchair and can’t participate in a lot of things because of it. This past weekend we went to an orchard to buy apples and they were offering wagon rides for a small price. He wanted to go but we couldn’t get his chair in the wagon. A couple of men working at the orchard picked him up, chair and all and took him on a 20 minute trip around the apple farm. When they returned they unloaded him AND refused to take the wagon ride fee. My son had the biggest smile on his face. MMT