It’s amazing the impact we could be having on someone else’s life without even knowing it.
Rachaele Hambleton had driven past a “beautiful lady with crazy blonde curly hair” every day for ten years on the school run.
While Rachaele was a busy working Mum-of-five, she envied the devotion and happiness she saw in this lady as she walked her “happy” children to school every day.
Rachaele was so moved that she decided to cut back on some of her working hours, and took to Facebook to write an open letter to the woman who had unknowingly changed her life.
She wrote:
‘I used to be a full time working mum.
‘Every morning for the past 10 years I’ve driven from Torquay over the Shaldon bridge on my way to work… and most days I’ve driven past a beautiful lady with crazy blonde curly hair.
‘She started out 10 years ago walking her eldest baby to the primary school with her younger ones carried on her chest and in double buggies whilst walking beautiful puppy retriever.
‘Every morning I would watch her and be in awe at how organised she was, how she could possibly manage and how happy her babies looked.
‘I would then continue the rest of my journey to work with a lump in my throat that someone else was doing all of those things with my babies because I felt I should be at work.
‘This lady made me realise that actually I should work a little less, and learn to manage a little more.
‘So as I drove past you this morning and I saw you kissing your daughter on the forehead who once I saw as a tiny baby and is now a little lady… and your dog was walking at a much slower pace beside you now he’s so much older and I imagine all your other children have now grown up and go to secondary school and walk themselves to school.’
‘I just wanted to post on here, in the hope somehow it will reach you, to say thank you… because of you I have now reduced my working hours so I can spend some mornings at home doing the crazy school runs with all my babies. I make sure I go and fight back tears watching all their school plays and bake (mainly inedible) cakes for the fetes…and I love all of it!
‘It’s amazing that seeing a 30 second glimpse of someone else’s life once a day can make yours so much more enjoyable xx’
Unbelievably, the woman in question, named Naomi, saw the post and responded, writing:
‘I’m absolutely AMAZED that you have noticed me for such a long time and noticed the changes in my family, I’ve been walking Shaldon bridge since 2003 along with Boris the dog who’s now 11 and finding it a struggle, I have had five children go to the school (my younger 3 are still there) and your (sic) right my elder two walk themselves to TCS.
‘I feel incredibly honoured (along with embarrassed) to be mentioned in such a post for simply walking my children to school along with what has felt like over the years being a parent machine!!!
‘That short walk across Shaldon bridge is my little bit of therapy and how blessed we all are to live in such a beautiful part of the world! I am taking the credit for SO many other parents who do exactly the same as me so for all the other parents, that post was for you too!!!
‘I know that everyone’s life is different and sometimes life doesn’t enable us all to spend the time with our children that we wish but I believe being there for those simple day to day moments creates long lasting memories for all!’
The original post, posted on the Spotted Torquay Facebook page, has so far received thousands of likes and hundreds of shares online.
