my best moment

after a year and a half of working at Apple my best moment came today. Maranda and I helped this woman and her autistic son with her iPad because it was unexpectedly broken. She was so heartbroken because her son has made so much progress in such a short amount of time. Long story short we took care of it and she actually burst into tears. She thanked us... hugged us... blessed us... all while her son is standing next to her unable to control is actions. It just broke my heart. It took everything within me NOT to cry.

That one interaction was a breath of fresh air into my entire working career. Apple is intense. We strive for excellence and excellence is not obtained by being lazy, lackadaisical or passive. Excellence is TIRING haha. The summer is especially EXTRA crazy just for the sheer fact that there is no school. It can be... taxing. This woman reminded me what Apple IS and WHY Apple is. I mean what happened today ended up transcending even Apple itself. Yeah, we're the company that makes the device that helped this little boy be a better version of himself but... the little thing that we did touched her whole LIFE! and that's CRAZY.

At the end of the day I thanked God for putting me and Mandy in the right place at the right time so we could help her. I'm thankful that I was at the right company in the right place at the right time. It's crazy... and makes me tear up every time I think about it. Her gratitude was so genuine and moving.

I know I'm gonna get bogged down again by people asking me exactly WHAT the iPhone 5gS will do and what we're gonna do when the iPad 3 is on 4G and that's okay. I won't ever forget that woman, because she impacted me more than she'll ever know.

I wrote an email explaining exactly what happened and I know I can't put the whole thing on here but I think I can put the last portion up:

"The thing that got to me (and still makes me teary) is she told us that

because of that iPad - a barebones, 16 gig, 1st gen iPad - she had seen a child

that she never knew was inside her son. It was like seeing a different

kid. His cognitive skills were so much more advanced than ever before. He

is starting to write and recognize words. Her son couldn't control some of

his actions but she said he can spend hours on the iPad just tracing

letters or recognizing shapes.

I can't lie... I've been in a work slump. Back to school season wears me

out and I feel like I can't ever get a break, but this was a ringing

reminder of why I'm here and why Apple is the best company to work for. We

cover issues all the time... but this time it made a woman's day and kept

the ball rolling for her son's development and future.

I'm thankful I'm here.

Abby."