I should knock on wood as I say this, but things are moving along well with my visa processing. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be waiting or what the next step is for sure, but the good news is that it is moving (literally) along. This has been a good week so far, and this is just one of the things I'm thankful for this week. We met new people this week (which is always good) and are going to have the great opportunity to spend time with old friends at the end of this week, as well as squeeze a little tiny vacation in there! Volunteering has been good to me this week, and in my plethora of free time that I'm learning to manage a little bit better I got to spend the morning with one of my closest friends here. She told me a story on our walk by the river that made me think about the way that I interact with people. It went something along the lines of this:
A few weeks ago it was my friends birthday, and she spent the afternoon of her birthday grocery shopping. This particular friend of mine really enjoys grocery shopping, so this event combined with the fact that it was her birthday caused her to smile happily while placing her items on the conveyor belt at the checkout. The cashier noticed her and said, "It's so nice to see someone so joyful doing things like grocery shopping..." My friend explained that it was her birthday and that she was in a good mood, and the cashier responded, "Happy birthday! It's actually my birthday in a week!" A week later my friend went out to the finest french bakery and bought the cashier a beautiful birthday dessert. She went to the grocery store, found the right checkout, and presented the cashier with the dessert box, exclaiming "Happy Birthday!" The cashier was brought to tears. She was so surprised that a stranger would remember her, and care to bring her a gift. (I was pretty amazed by this act myself, since I rarely go out of my way to do nice things for people I've spoken to only once before; but this is the good part...) After my friend finished paying for her items and wishing the cashier a happy birthday, the man in line behind her pulled a dollar out of his pocket, saying, "It's your birthday? Here, buy a coffee with your cake." The lady in line behind him saw this act, and threw a few chocolate bars in with her groceries and said, "These are for you - happy birthday!" My friend had to leave, but these kind acts could have continued even further.
Once I heard a story about someone going through a Starbucks drive-thru and informing the barista in the window that he wanted to pay for the coffee of the person in line behind him. She looked up what that person owed, he paid it, and left. The next person drove up to the window and was informed that her coffee was already paid for, and she was shocked. This led her to pay for the coffee of the person behind her. The story goes that this apparently happened for something like an hour or 20 customers or something. I don't know if I really believe it, but hearing a story like I heard this morning strikes me in a different way... and I'm going to try to smile more.
3 comments:
That "paying it forward" random act of kindness is encouraged on KTIS radio and they share stories like yours from amazed and/or grateful people. I haven't heard of it going down the line 20 times, but I believe it, in Minnesota, anyway. ;)
Wow, I'm so out of the loop...a whole month late from when this was posted! I need to check more often, I guess. Well, the story about your friend made me cry (yes, right here in my cubicle). It's just nice to hear a story like that from an actual person you know and not in a "Chicken Soup for the Soul" book or something where I always think that it's made up...
It's okay, I'm out of the loop on my own blog - I just saw your comment. I was surprised by the story myself, but it was really encouraging to hear it and, like you said, know that it's actually true.
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