Random Acts of Kindness
If that looks like delicious Mexican Fried Rice with Strawberries and Chocolate on it to you, it's because IT IS!
"Happy Mother's Day", said the couple from across the way.
A random act of kindness can take you from feeling completely neglected, rejected, and disconnected to protected, accepted, and reconnected.
With tears in her eyes, "thank you", is all that Chris could muster. It's all she needed to say. It's more than they even expected to hear. They thought the kids were cute; and possibly overheard our conversation and decided, we needed that special treat. Who knows why; who cares! They sweetened our palates and our moods.
This kindness was preceded by the best Home Depot experience ever in Panama City, Florida. Our tent was missing it's rain fly (story to come). With bad weather blowing in, our frenzy to find a tarp (among other items) landed us at the Home Depot. While Chris, the kids, and Jake waited in the car, I rushed in for "tarp, sticks, wood, ice, tarp, sticks, wood, ice, tarp, sticks, wood, ice..." Isn't it always that when you NEED help at Home Depot you can't find a single salesman wandering around and when you DON'T need help, they swarm you!?
Well, this visit was picture perfect!! Tarp, salesperson, aisle 14, BOOM. Bungee cord or tie downs, salesperson, aisle 23, BOOM. Hotdog stick thingy's for fire, salesperson (giggling at me for saying thingy's), aisle 7, BOOM. Wood, salesperson...OH NO, wood is apparently out of season (who builds a campfire in 80*+ weather!?); but we neeeeeed to make hotdogs and s'mores!! Salesperson #2 approaches. They collaborate and find a stockpile on a highhhhh top shelf. They gate off the ends, fire up the lifty thing (and giggled at me for saying lifty thing), and brought me down a box of firelogs. More than that!!, they bust up a few pallets of wood and load up in our car for just in case. More than THAT!!, salesperson runs to his truck cause he has a few leftover logs. More than that THAT!!, the Home Depot carries ICE too. SCORE SCORE SCORE. We knocked out our list in one go and the random kindness from the salesmen at the Home Depot warmed our hearts (and later our hotdogs!).
Maybe they were just doing their job, maybe they thought we were cute, maybe there wasn't a reason, maybe it doesn't even matter...
Doing good things for people makes people want to do more good things for other people.
What is holding you back from being kind?
Be the person that makes others feel special.