May 07, 2012

Do as I say, not as I do

Random nice things I do for strangers:
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......uh.....
I waved someone through a four-way stop this morning even though I was (I think?) there first
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sometimes I make bread to give away to new neighbors by dumping all the ingredients in my breadmaker and pressing "BAKE"
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.....still thinking.....
sometimes I make people feel better about their own lives/children/sense of humor by being horrified by what they read in this blog
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And I'm done. Yep. That may be it.

My cousin Lillian? Read this fantastic Facebook status update:

At Starbucks working...sitting next to a table of 3 kids...maybe 12 years old. There was one kid, a boy, who was doing almost all the talking...from everything about learning chess, to baking bread, to wanting to write a book, to stories of his mom's childhood, to wanting to create a board game. The kind of kid that probably no one in middle school appreciates, but, being not in middle school, I know is very very cool.
 

I hear him get a phone call...realize it's his mom. I walked over to the table and asked if I could talk on the phone to his mom. He was definitely taken aback. I told her how impressed I was with her son, and how, in the little time I had been sitting by him, I could tell how amazing he was, and how great of a job she was doing. I told her I could only hope for my son to be as creative and well-rounded as her son seems to be. I may have gotten choked up. I gave him back the phone, and walked away with his jaw hanging open.
 

I should do things like that more often! (and shouldn't everyone?)

Go ahead - you're allowed to sniffle while reading that. I am both humbled and emboldened by this kind act, and I've been thinking about it so often that I asked Lillian if I could share.


I am sure there are other great stories out there - either you've done or done to you. Inspire the rest of us (ahem...ME...) to pay it forward! Leave a note (anonymously, if you're too embarrassed by how awesome it is and don't want to make people feel as bad about their own selves as I'm sure I did with my lengthy list above).

3 comments:

cobandrob said...

I'll start: One time at the TX State Fair we had someone give us free entry passes (just for kicks?) while we waited in line and then later three different people handed us food & ride tickets to use on our kids. (Jannika and Silas had just eaten a funnel cake and were covered with sweat, grease, and powdered sugar...so we may have appeared to be homeless...but that would make it a better story anyways.)

anonymous said...

we've paid tolls for the cars behind us. sometimes the people track us down to honk and wave.

ppetrink said...

It's the small things: Random compliments. Eye contact and a sincere greeting. A big smile or friendly wave. Everyone is too absorbed in their own selves these days.