Thursday, February 21, 2013

Kindness Matters





The plan was to run a bunch of errands and then pick up a couple of salads on the way home. So we ran. In out, in out. I kissed Rainey, and shut the trunk. Dave snapped the clasps on Aviana's car seat. We collectively hopped in and shut our car doors. Suddenly, I wanted to go out to dinner instead. 

I looked at the clock, 6:59. Problem. 6:59 on a normal Saturday - okay, but on a holiday weekend...not okay. We looked around the parking lot and sure enough, there were people lined up at every single restaurant as far as we could see. Since we needed to be home somewhat soon to feed Aviana, salad pick up it would be. 

On our way out of the parking lots we perused every place, and uh uh, no way. But wait, there was one that didn't look too bad! So we went. 

We pushed Avi up to the table, as we do. We sat and ate, as we do. All was normal as always...until it was time for our check. Our sweet server kindly explained that someone had taken care of our entire dinner for us! 

We were in such shock that we had to ask her to repeat what she had said. We still couldn't believe it. Smiling, we looked at each other, but were completely speechless. We looked back at the server and asked who? She pointed to the now empty table of a couple who had been sitting beside us.

I have never wished to be able to thank someone so badly. We were so full of gratitude. We have been shown so much kindness over the years, but this was of a different sort. We were completely taken!

That night, in that restaurant, we felt the absolute kindness of perfect strangersI wanted to hug them. I wanted to tell them how much what they did meant to us, that it wasn't just a meal, but so much more

I wanted to tell them that what they did doesn't stop with us. It extends out, because with each family member, friend and all of you...this story has a way of not only softening our soul, but the souls of all of those who hear about it.

❤ ❤ ❤   

17 comments:

  1. ....sooooo very AWESOME. i love hearing the random acts of kindness complete strangers pay forward everyday!!!

    ..and yes i am still here alive and kicking. enjoyed catching up on the past 4-8 weeks worth of posts and seeing avi eating was fun. catching her pantene commercials was a treat. experiencing her stiff legged protest was priceless....

    sadly cps was not something one would expect to hear about in your life (of all people!) i'm glad you came through it with a minimum of effort.

    teluride sounds FANTABULOUS.....and for some reason keeps reminding me of GFA

    ...all for now from me. <3 <3 <3

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  2. Love! It was absolutely the neatest thing when this happened to us too!

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  3. I was going to suggest that the way to say thanks for random acts of kindness is to pay it forward, but then I remembered that you've already done that...many times.

    XOXO
    Dixie

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    1. Thank you, the sweetest compliment a girl could ask for! And you know, giving of the anonymous kind is my very favorite, so when the tables were turned on me for the very first time, I was shocked. Dave looked at me and said, "So how does it feel?" And I knew exactly what he meant! I learned from my good friend Jessica 20 years ago now when we were crossing the Bay Bridge and she paid for the 10 people behind us. From there, it started with bridge tolls and has evolved into my secret creative 20 year game of whatever my little mind can come up with.

      Give the Love Around....always. In my opinion, giving serves as one of the ultimate feelings. ❤

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    2. I meant to add, after that night, it got me really questioning if it should ever have been a secret. By my good friend Jessica's example I was set off on a 20 year and counting journey in this way. I think kindness and giving are infectious, but my struggle is I never want to come across as a 'look at me' type. With Aviana's Elves, I was told by my neighbor that people want to give, but sometimes they just don't know how, and need help with being pointed in a direction. I don't know if that's the case with this too?

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  4. That's so awesome. It's nice to know that there are people still like that in this world, who will just do a random act of kindness like paying for someone's meal at a restaurant (anonymously!)

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  5. How very kind of them! It's obvious your family touched their hearts. Your family touches my heart as well. Continued prayers to you and your family!

    Becky Cooper
    Plano, TX

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    1. That is so very sweet of you to say...thank you so much ❤

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  6. This reminds me of your previous post - "Love One Another" - even people we don't know.

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    1. Definitely! Love one another, as we are all connected, and we all want the same thing...love!

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  7. Love love love. It's my goal to start some random acts of kindness. This inspires me!! Today I saw a man at Starbucks buy a 5 dollar Starbucks card and hand it to the homeless man outside. It made my day!!

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    1. That is the sweetest! That made my day just reading that. Thanks for sharing!

      I love you sarahdelap.

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  8. Love this. We went to an auction a couple of years ago. Nico had his eye on a tackle box full of fun fishing supplies. My husband starting bidding on it and a bidding war broke out. We finally gave in at $42. The man across the way had won the auction. When they said, "sold" and pointed to him, he said, "slide it over there to that young man." We had never seen this man before. He later said, "I saw your son keeping an eye on the box until they got to it." Nico was so grateful! Definitely a pay it forward moment! There are very generous people out there.

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    1. That story just melts my heart! I'm sure every time you look at that tackle box you are reminded of his kindness. Some people leave such lasting imprints!

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  9. You never know, a touch, a smile, a nod, an acknowledgment of any kind may just be the boost that someone needs. It's in those moments between heartbeats that my soul stands still and God shows me that he is aware and present. I have been the recipient of much goodness and hope that I have given a measure of that goodness back. Love is timeless and always in style.

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