I grew up in New York City but lived in South Carolina for 4 years. Now I live in a suburb of Austin, Texas. In my experience, the blessing might be a mixed blessing. Sometimes the people saying it really do mean well, but sometimes it’s not well meaning.

I loved that someone gave a beautiful banana to your son. That seemed to be a real act of love and compassion.

I had cancer several years ago and I was bald due to the chemo I had just finished. After my treatment, we took a trip. While in a Thai restaurant in Florida, one of the owners spontaneously came up to me and gave me a hug. It was just so warm and loving. I felt really blessed by that.

I wish people would always be so genuine and so compassionate. Not all of us are the same but we all deserve to be treated with dignity.