Getting fired can be hard. Getting fired when you arguably didn't do anything wrong is even harder. But getting fired when you didn't do anything wrong and then having to relive it on international news for weeks is its own special kind of hell. Which is exactly what former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump last week, is going through right now.
Comey has been barricaded in his northern Virginia home since the news broke that Trump fired him. And since then, news reporters from all over the world have been swarming his gate looking to get a comment from the former director. He hasn't let any of the news anchors into his home as of yet, but according to a report from NPR, one little girl did get past security.
"FBI Director Comey lives in our neighborhood, and, as you would imagine - there were a lot of reporters at the foot of his driveway today," the girl's mother told NPR. "Abby thought that was quite inhospitable. Well, either a 9 year old in a parochial school uniform dress doesn't look very threatening - or the smell of the choc chip cookies was so good that the security detail could smell them from the other side of the gate .... in either case, Abby Grace just hand delivered a dozen cookies fresh from the oven. She walked up, shook the hand of the 6'10" agent, introduced herself, and, hopefully made Director Comey's day a little bit better!"
Abby Grace, a 9-year-old girl living in Comey's neighborhood baked him cookies to help cheer him up after seeing all of the reporters on the block. The girl's mother had recently been talking with her about relating to other people, regardless of whether they agree or disagree with her (an important lesson for us all). Clearly this message stuck with Abby Grace, prompting her thoughtful gift that is mature beyond her years.
"We've spent a lot of time talking about how kindness and empathy are the most important ways for us to engage [with] people regarless of if we agree with or understand their positions," Abby Grace's mom, who did not reveal her family's personal political views, told NPR. "In [Director] Comey's case, Abby said 'I wanted him to know we respect him for his career service.'"
I think it's safe to say that we can all learn a lot from Abby Grace's generosity. Here's to more kindness and cookies in the future!