After Thanksgiving during a Walmart trip shopping for angel tree gifts, my partner and I ran across a woman with a toddler and a baby just sort of walking up and down the toy aisles. The kids were just staring at all the shiny and the mom had that look on her face that was half guilt half sorrow.

We stopped them after a moment (my wallet was somehow at the bottom of the cart underneath things) and gave them the envelope with a small explanation and wished them a Merry Christmas.

She was pretty speechless but there was a small bit of hope in her expression that hadn’t been there before.