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My garden helper's live-in had a stroke and needs to exercise, but really can't stand on her own much right now. So I gave her my NIB foot pedal exerciser to use while sitting in the La-Z-Boy recliner I had also given them while she watches her programs on television. He was thrilled with it and I hope she uses it (since I obviously never did ).
And, Peeps, remember to be present for kindnesses that may be coming your way. Keep your eyes and ears open.
This thread provides proof that many of us are out there wanting to offer kindness to each other. Sometimes people are so self-absorbed or self-protective that they miss the good stuff being sent out to them. That only makes them feel more alone and unassisted.
I felt badly leaving the gym this week. Toward me in the hall came a plump, very pretty young woman with a scowl on her face. She looked like she was carrying so much hurt or stress that it hurt me to look at her.
I made eye contact and she glanced toward me. And just before I smiled and said, "Hi," she gave me a scornful sneer that froze my face in mid stride.
As I drove home I thought how unfortunate to be in her spot right now. Right when it's looking like she could use some kindness, she is forcing the very thing she needs away from her.
Is she somewhere today thinking, "Nobody cares about me?" and wondering why?
A smile and a greeting says to another person, "I see you, recognize you as a fellow human being and wish you well." I never underestimate the value of that gift to hurting people.
I've been hesitant to post this, but it made me and DH so happy and it was such a serendipitous moment, with a whole bunch of things that just happened to occur at the exactly correct moment in time that it seems worth sharing.
We were gifted two tickets to The Nutcracker which was being performed at a nearby theater. We could choose which performance to attend. I called to reserve the late morning show, but was unable to get through. So I called later that day for the early evening show and was successful. We were early getting to the box office to pick up the tickets, but ran into a neighbor and chatted for a bit. So, when we went into the box office building, there was a woman with her six or seven year old daughter just ahead of us. We could hear the woman inquire about tickets and the price. They must have been too expensive for her, because they left without purchasing. We got our tickets and left the office building. We looked at each other and I said, "There they are walking up the street. We can catch up to them."
So we ran a bit to catch up to them, gave the woman our tickets, saying that she and her daughter would really enjoy it. She smiled a big smile, thanked us, took her daughter's hand, turned around and walked back down to the theater. We watched them go inside. Just writing this makes me happy again, thinking about that little girl with wide eyes and an 0 shaped mouth, craning her little neck watching all those little sugar plum fairies.
If we had not been gifted the tickets, if I'd gotten through on the phone for the morning show, if we hadn't gotten there early, if we hadn't run into the neighbor.
I've been hesitant to post this, but it made me and DH so happy and it was such a serendipitous moment, with a whole bunch of things that just happened to occur at the exactly correct moment in time that it seems worth sharing.
We were gifted two tickets to The Nutcracker which was being performed at a nearby theater. We could choose which performance to attend. I called to reserve the late morning show, but was unable to get through. So I called later that day for the early evening show and was successful. We were early getting to the box office to pick up the tickets, but ran into a neighbor and chatted for a bit. So, when we went into the box office building, there was a woman with her six or seven year old daughter just ahead of us. We could hear the woman inquire about tickets and the price. They must have been too expensive for her, because they left without purchasing. We got our tickets and left the office building. We looked at each other and I said, "There they are walking up the street. We can catch up to them."
So we ran a bit to catch up to them, gave the woman our tickets, saying that she and her daughter would really enjoy it. She smiled a big smile, thanked us, took her daughter's hand, turned around and walked back down to the theater. We watched them go inside. Just writing this makes me happy again, thinking about that little girl with wide eyes and an 0 shaped mouth, craning her little neck watching all those little sugar plum fairies.
If we had not been gifted the tickets, if I'd gotten through on the phone for the morning show, if we hadn't gotten there early, if we hadn't run into the neighbor.
Status:
"In the words of Steve Winwood, Roll With It!"
(set 22 days ago)
Location: State of the closed-minded
296 posts, read 217,211 times
Reputation: 580
One day recently, I had completed my transaction at the supermarket and was heading to my vehicle when I spotted someone's debit card on the pavement---it was issued by a bank which has a branch location that is pretty much in line with my trip back home, so I took the card to the drive-thru at this bank, explaining the situation to them, and hopefully it got back to the person it belonged to.
My stepson's biological father has a weird, fraught relationships with money. In the divorce decree he agreed to pay 100% of his children's college education. He chose to pay them initially with student loans which he and my stepson were both liable. This was the first sign of trouble. The second was that he guilted my stepson into splitting payments with him, contrary to the court order. The third was that since the pandemic payment moratorium is over, Dad hasn't paid anything. And my stepson, who grosses about $250 a week, was starting to make payments by himself.
I've talked to dear old Dad, he says of course he'll pay it, then he doesn't. His last promise was six months ago. The man is a multi-millionaire (retired financial advisor to rich people). He wouldn't even miss the $.
This year I decided to work a couple years past retirement age at least, and I am at a career peak, earnings wise. So I got my stepson to log into his student loan account and gave him my routing # and bank account # and watched as he paid off the last $11K. Frankly it was a win for everyone -- my stepson, who doesn't have to worry about his loans anymore and is now debt free; me, because I don't have to be exasperated about it; and my wife / his mother, who doesn't have to be concerned either (and is spared going to the court to force payment). It's even a win for his Dad, lol. I mean, sometimes you just have to buy peace of mind, even if you have to pay through the nose for it.
My stepson said if his Dad had paid it, he'd never hear the end of it; he knows I'll never bring it up again. I told him, look, when my son died you said I'd always have you -- that cuts both ways. And Merry Christmas, son.
One of the reasons I'd held off until now is because this was a matter between my stepson and his Dad and I try to be respectful of the relationship ... but honestly after I found out a couple of months ago that my stepdaughter had worked extra jobs and saved $16K and gave it to Dad to help pay off HER student loans (she was not a good listener, and was unaware of the court order) ... I just decided I don't care how Dad feels about me stepping in. Unlike his sister, my stepson has some disabilities and can't afford to nuke his bank account over this.
I feel it's the best expenditure I made this year.
I have been battling Covid this week. Several friends and neighbors have dropped food and medicine off at my door, while many others have offered to help with whatever I need, as my husband is bed-bound. I am beyond grateful for their kindness and thoughtfulness.
A friend of mine put out the word to a group of us that another of our friends was in difficulty, and was raising money for them. Quite a few folk did donate money, quite generously. I donated some, then sent the Organizing Friend a message asking if the Friend in Need might want some Italian sausage. (I'd gone in halves on a pig I bought from a friend with a working farm, and due to a goof at the processor farming friend took it to, I wound up with a *lot* of Italian sausage.) Now, while I love Italian food.....this was more Italian sausage than I could reasonably use.
Organizing Friend said Friend in Need would be delighted to take some of the sausage. So I messaged Farm Friend and ask them to bring some of that up, along with a dozen extra eggs (I also buy my eggs from Farm Friend). Farm Friend noted this was an unusual request, I explained why......and Farm Friend put together a 'goody basket', as they called it. Steaks and ground beef from a cow they butchered. Pork chops. Regular sausage. Chicken. Some canned fruits and vegetables. More eggs than what I'd requested. It was a *ton* of food. The only reason why they hadn't sent more was their spouse reminded them that I only had so much room in my fridge until the Organizing Friend could come pick it up and deliver it to Friend in Need.
I decided to get Friend in Need a few extra things as well--I figured from something that Organizing Friend let slip that there were kids in the house, so I got some simple and easy things to make (Mac n' Cheese, cereal, Hamburger Helper, bread, peanut butter, and some chocolate for a treat.)
When Organizing Friend came to get the food, their jaw just about dropped. As they put it, the family probably won't have to grocery shop for a month now, and the money collected can go help them catch up on bills. (And Organizing Friend did post an update to the whole group letting us know that Friend In Need was indeed now able to catch up quite a bit, thanks to everybody's efforts.)
I was sort of amazed at how the food donation mushroomed from, "Hey, I have some extra Italian sausage, would they want any of it?" to, "Holy smokes, we pretty much filled their fridge and pantry for a month!" Farm Friend has the most generous heart.
This is no big deal, but our grocery store offers "holiday bucks" -- a kind of reward where you earn dollars toward a ham or turkey for the holiday system. This starts in late September and ends in mid-December, and the amount you get depends on how much you spend, and the holiday bucks are in the form of a coupon on each receipt.. Anyway, we didn't need our holiday bucks after getting our Thanksgiving turkey, and we had accumulated about $5.00 in holiday bucks that would just be thrown out, so I took them with me to the grocery store yesterday, and I offered them to the first person I saw with a ham or turkey in their cart, which turned out to be an older man with a ham. He got a HUGE smile on his face and thanked me -- but it really was no big deal because as I said, I would have just thrown them out otherwise.
I've been hesitant to post this, but it made me and DH so happy and it was such a serendipitous moment, with a whole bunch of things that just happened to occur at the exactly correct moment in time that it seems worth sharing.
We were gifted two tickets to The Nutcracker which was being performed at a nearby theater. We could choose which performance to attend. I called to reserve the late morning show, but was unable to get through. So I called later that day for the early evening show and was successful. We were early getting to the box office to pick up the tickets, but ran into a neighbor and chatted for a bit. So, when we went into the box office building, there was a woman with her six or seven year old daughter just ahead of us. We could hear the woman inquire about tickets and the price. They must have been too expensive for her, because they left without purchasing. We got our tickets and left the office building. We looked at each other and I said, "There they are walking up the street. We can catch up to them."
So we ran a bit to catch up to them, gave the woman our tickets, saying that she and her daughter would really enjoy it. She smiled a big smile, thanked us, took her daughter's hand, turned around and walked back down to the theater. We watched them go inside. Just writing this makes me happy again, thinking about that little girl with wide eyes and an 0 shaped mouth, craning her little neck watching all those little sugar plum fairies.
If we had not been gifted the tickets, if I'd gotten through on the phone for the morning show, if we hadn't gotten there early, if we hadn't run into the neighbor.
Sometimes things just work out perfectly.
Best post so far in this thread, imo!!
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