Yesterday in Athens, I faced a moment every parent dreads. My daughter Avery suddenly tugged at me and said with urgency that she needed the bathroom—and she couldn’t wait. I grabbed her hand and we rushed into the first place we saw, a Subway in downtown.
We didn’t stop at the counter. We went straight for the restroom, but just as I reached for the door, an employee stepped in front of us. He was polite but firm and explained that the bathrooms were only for paying customers. My heart sank. I reached for my purse and realized in an instant—I didn’t have my wallet.
Flustered and apologetic, I started to turn back, ready to take Avery outside even though she was so uncomfortable. And then something unexpected happened.
Two young men nearby immediately stepped forward. They didn’t know us. They didn’t ask questions. They simply said they would buy something so Avery could use the restroom. One of them smiled and added, “We’ll get her a cookie. That way she’s a customer.”
The relief I felt in that moment is something I’ll never forget. We rushed into the restroom, and while the crisis passed quickly, the kindness stayed with me.
When we came back out, those two young men were still there. I thanked them again, and that’s when I learned who they were—Latavious and Jaylen, players on the University of Georgia football team. We ended up chatting right there in the Subway. We laughed, we joked about football, and what started as a stressful moment turned into a memory I’ll treasure.
To some, it may not seem like much. Just a cookie. Just a restroom. But to me, it meant everything. In a world that can feel divided, here were two young athletes—busy students, not parents themselves—who chose kindness without hesitation. They asked for nothing in return.
It reminded me of something I once heard in a sermon: What does love require of you? Love isn’t always a grand gesture. Sometimes, it looks like two strangers buying a cookie so a little girl can make it to the bathroom in time.
The world needs more of that. More Latavious. More Jaylen. More simple acts of kindness that ripple outward and remind us that love and goodness are still here—even in the middle of a Subway in Athens.
So to those two wonderful young men, thank you. Thank you for your kindness, for showing Avery and me that goodness is alive. You gave us more than a cookie. You gave us hope.
Go Dawgs ❤️❤️