I Saw It: I Saw the Whole Thing

I was in the Boston Common when I saw her fall. I could've left two minutes earlier, and I would've missed it. But I didn't. I saw the whole thing.

Earlier that evening, I was sitting on the small white couch in my living room, arguing with myself about whether or not I should go to the gym.

The higher part of me decided to throw on a pair of black leggings, a white tank top, and white tube socks that go up my shins.

I laced up my Nike Air Force Ones and walked out the door.

It was 4:15—almost dark outside.

Even so, I immediately recognized her face—my friend (we'll call her Kat) from the dog park.

I watched her skip across the grass and play fetch with her dog, Mable.

Just as I was about to say, "Hey, Kat!" she tripped over the ledge and fell to the ground.I saw

I gasped.

"Are you okay!?" I crouched down beside her. I couldn't believe what I had just saw.

"I'm having a bad day," she cried.

There was a rip in her sweatpants, blood on her kneecap, and her dog, Mable, sat in her lap.

I placed my hand on her knee and grasped it tight as though I could've squeezed the pain right out of it.

"There's so much shit piling up," she wipes her eyes, "I just feel like I need to slow down."

I could tell she meant literally, but we both knew it was deeper than that.

I nodded my head in solidarity.

"I know," I said. "I really know."

As we sat on the ground, men strolled by in suits, women pushed strollers beside us, and teenagers walked by in groups of four or five.

We stayed there for a while until I gave Kat my number and told her to text me anytime.

Later that night, as I was crawling into bed, I received a text that said: "Thank you for seeing me ❤️"

It made me smile.

So much of life is like that, being in the right place at the right time. I happened to be there, and I happened to be looking.

But I just as easily could've missed it.

Sometimes, we have to slow down to see what's right in front of us.

When was the last time you saw something shocking that got your attention? What happened? What did you learn from it?