The kindness of strangers.

I am appreciating the kindness of strangers today.

The passerby who offered to go to the store and get Lucozade for my father when he was feeling faint.

The bench that was there when he needed to sit.

The taxi driver who offered to take him home even though the route was not his.

The doctor next door, who came right over to see him and stayed until he was sure my father felt better.

The same doctor who offered to check in on him regularly.

The neighbor who took my mother to the hospital when she dislocated her arm.

The neighbor who spent the night in the hospital with my mother, so she won't have to be there alone.

These and other countless acts of humanity is what makes us human. 

Perhaps now we would be willing to give up the bogus idea that if we lived closer to family, we would better off.

No we wouldn't. 

Family would be reluctant at the start and reproachful long after it was over.