Sometimes it is just a little act of kindness, such as little as the lady I was waiting on the other day who just suddenly, in the middle of ordering, stopped and said: "My dear, you have a beautiful smile. Thank you for sharing it". What did she have to gain by telling me that? Nothing. But she said it because she could.
Sometimes it is something big. Peggy is a tiny old lady who comes to Benedict Street every blessed day. Twice. She gets the prize for the most dedicated regular. She comes for breakfast: half a toasted croissant soaked in butter and honey. She comes again for lunch: a half burger made exactly the way she likes it, and she is very particular. A couple of Saturdays ago, she came in towards the end of the day, after we were closed (she always sneaks in the back door). I greeted her and gave her a hug as usual, then I went back to doing dishes. She stood there with her hands in her pockets and just watched me. To be quite honest, after a few minutes it was kinda getting on my nerves. Finally she asked me when I would be done, and I responded that I had a despairingly huge pile of dishes left, so I'd be lucky to be out in an hour. She left and returned in an hour. We were almost through - just putting Herbert back together. She walked in the back door, pulled yellow envelopes out of her pocket and handed them to me and Samantha. Then said she was going to church. We thanked her for the mysterious envelope, and completed our job. As we were walking to the car, we opened the envelopes: A card, blank on the inside except for "love and prayers, Peggy." And a 100 dollar bill.
Sometimes it is kindness not directed directly towards me. My 12-year-old sister Mary just got braces on wednesday. All Wednesday evening and Thursday and into Friday, she was miserable. Her teeth ached, couldn't eat, and she was emotionally labile. She cried at anything. She didn't want to get the braces on in the first place, saw no need for them, and really just felt depressed about having to have them. Mom called the orthodontist and explained how Mary was having trouble, mostly emotionally. Two days later, we got a package in the mail from the orthodontist, inside, a small metal horse decoration with a personal note encouraging Mary, ending with "we will come through this together smiling, Mary, I promise". I was really really impressed. That is a woman who is a successful doctor who makes a ton of money and yet she takes the time of day to not only write a personal note of encouragement for a patient mostly suffering from a bad attitude, and even buys her a present just suited for her. Most doctors wouldn't even remember Mary. I thought that was just awesome! Needless to say, Mary's attitude is very much improved and she is even looking forward to her next appointment.
Some people really do have big hearts. There are real human beings out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment