I've had several, but the one that still tugs at my heart strings occurred during a horrible divorce and custody battle. I was living in what was little more than an oversized laundry room and dealing with toxic relatives. My longtime job had come to an end, and I was making little money at a new one. Through my job, I was involved with helping customers who used the federal low-income heating program. It was a thankless, miserable job with a nasty boss.
A customer showed up one day and gave me a small bucket of fruit and candy that she'd put together herself. She wanted to thank me for helping her with the application process. It had to have been a financial burden for her, and I'm not sure I ever thanked her properly because I was just speechless. She'll never know that it was the only gift I received that Christmas, and I kept that bucket until it fell apart. I never knew her name, but I'll never forget that day.
So many! But the one I always think about is my flight from San Diego to LA. Short flight, I hate the take offs and landingsπ«£...
The man sitting next to me, kept my mind off of the whole flight. He told me he was going to a board meeting for St. Jude. And couldn't find his notes, told him they were probably up front.
He took the time to find me after deplaning to thank me! When I really didn't do anything! It just meant a lot ππ€ππ
I was coming home from a town in OK. I had my dogs with me to help keep me awake. It was a long stretch of road with only trees for about 30 miles. As it turned out the dogs didn't keep me awake. I dosed off for a few seconds, crossed the yellow line, & hit a culvert sign. I immediately got back over to the right side of the road & pulled over. My guardian angel was with me cuz I didn't go into the ditch. There was no phone service there. So I got out, assessed the damage...a pole stuck underneath my car & a flat tire. I was able to get the pole out from underneath in the front. I then attempted to change the tire. I had never changed the tires on that car before. I couldn't figure out how to get the hubcaps off. So here I am in the middle of nowhere, no phone service with 2 dogs & no water. After about 30 minutes a truck drove by, then stopped up ahead if me & then backed up. I was happy to see someone but growing up in the city I was also nervous. As it turned out it was a couple heading home. The man changed my tire & followed me back into town. I was so grateful as it would have been several more hours before family would be out looking for me. I didn't get their name to send them a Thank You card so I hope I made it clear how grateful I was.
I wanted to buy wine but walk with a walker so I called the large liquor warehouse first and asked if I could give them my list and then meet them at the register. They said yes of course. So I'm sitting on my walker near the register and a guy stocking shelves nearby asked if I was the one that called... I said yes what gave me away and he smiled and said my yellow shirt. I just thought how sweet, he totally got me.
When my kids were little and I had just had a baby, my parents would stay with hubby and I to help out. Well, after my twins ( numbers 6 & 7), my mom watched the gang while I went to the bakery. Standing in line, the man behind me asked if I had a newborn. I said yes, two! How did he know? He said one of them had spit up on the back of my shirt somehow. I ordered 2 dozen donuts and he insisted on buying them. He said that anyone who just had twins deserved free donuts! I have never forgotten his kindness and humor π.
What a good question, Falalalala. I did not recognize the driver in front of me in the Wendy's drive thru once. (It was a church member from the church where I worked. Found out later). I had left my lunch at home that morning, accidentally. So I went by Wendy's to get a sandwich. $5 at most. When I got to the drive thru window, the employee said my order had been paid by the truck that just driven off. I was so touched, I decided to pass that along several times since then at drive thru's (depending on my finances each particular day!)
Another time, I had a flat on my commute to work. Middle of Nowhere! No cell signal. County employees were cutting grass & weeds along the lonely highway that morning. About 3 of them stopped cutting, got down from their machines, put the spare tire on my vehicle, shook my hand & sent me on my way. I was so grateful.
Old scary bikers! π€£ "Big Red" comes to mind. He scared the other nurses, so he was mine for the week. Big, loud, burly, and p*ssed off when we met. I looked into his eyes and saw the teddy bear he really was, and it was an absolute joy to care for him (after knocking down some walls, of course). I was handed a heavy package at work later with my name on it a little bow, so I took it home. It was a book, his favorite book he mentioned briefly, Lonesome Dove. I was incredibly moved that he gifted me his favorite novel, I am a reader too and this meant a lot to me! He wrote a little note that he had been a sinner in his youth and this book helped him turn his life around. π₯°
Fast forward a few years, and life was changing quickly. I wasn't sure if I hated my career or my employer, but I was deep into the stress of a second degree and moving states, with hope that my big changes were the right thing. I was packing up my books and chided myself for never reading the one Red gave me. I opened up the book to read it (instead of packing) and a small letter fell out. I read the letter and ugly cried. You never really know what a little love, patience, and respect will do for another person. He noted how I supported him during his darkest and scariest moments in a beautifully articulated letter of appreciation and gratitude. He never knew that the letter he wrote was exactly what I needed to read, years later, at the time I found it. His words rescued me during my dark and scary time too.
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