"It gets better…"

There's an elementary school at the end of the block I work on. I like to go for short walks in the afternoon to give my eyes a rest from the computer screen and get a little sunlight. As I passed the school today, A woman walked out, with a young crying girl comforted under her arm.  Not just tears on her face.  Low-but-audible ten-year-old sobbing.

At that moment, I was moved. 

I'm sure whatever was making her cry that hard must have felt like the end of the world.  We've all been there. "It will be ok, whatever it is" I wanted to tell her, kneeling down and looking her in the eye. "Things get better."

"… Then they get much worse.  But for a while, they do get better."