Holy Smokes — it’s the middle of December already. And not a Christmas post in sight around here. Very sad. How ’bout a picture of Santa hanging in my kitchen?
There, now I feel better. But that has nothing to do with this post. ;-)
You know how you always hear stories about people who do fun things for strangers? Like pay for the car behind them in the drive-thru lane? Or something like Karin’s fun with words of hope and kindness? I’m always too chicken to do something like that. Or too busy. Or too out-to-lunch.
But the Saturday after Thanksgiving was a little different. I was in the Target check-out line and started up a conversation with this cute little cashier. We’ll call her Lucy (not really her name, you know.) We were making small talk and I asked her if she’d survived Black Friday.
“Oh Yes! All 10 hours of it for me.” She was so cheery and happy. As she was ringing up my towels, she said,
“I took advantage of the towel sale too. My niece is going to Purdue and I want to get them embossed for her.” (That really made me smile!)
“Oh, that’s my favorite gift to get new college students. Towels in their school colors with a monogram on them.”
Then she asked me where I get my towels done and I told her that I was lucky and had my own machine. She hesitated for a minute and then said,
“Could I pay you to do mine for me?”
Oooooh. I didn’t expect that. So, I politely told her that I don’t really embroider for other people, there’s just not enough time. And we discussed a few places that she might find to embroider her towels.
Then I rushed off to the post office and my other errands.
Only I couldn’t stop thinking about cute little Lucy and how excited she was to give these towels to her niece. And how hard she was working. And how happy and cheerful she was while standing on her feet all day waiting on customers. I even got a tear in my eye!
Would it really kill me to embroider a few towels for someone who’d brightened my day a little? So, I ran back to Target and sheepishly told her I’d embroider her towels for her. (After all, we didn’t even know each other. It was a leap of faith on her part to give towels she’d paid for to a perfect stranger.) She was so excited, it was fun to arrange the pick-up and drop-off.
After I finished the towels, I dropped them off and then called Lucy to tell them she could pick them up. She’d already seen them and she was SO sweet and so grateful. She said she loved them. She even said she almost cried when she saw them.
That made it all worthwhile. That’s what I’m talking about!
XOXO,
Anna
P.S. I really didn’t tell you this so you’ll say what a nice thing to do or anything. I contemplated turning comments off (heh, why bother, my server does that enough for me, but I digress) but I’m hoping maybe you’ll tell me about something totally random and fun that you’ve done or heard about?
Oh, never mind modesty, Mrs, I think that was a lovely thing to do and you deserve to be told so. So there :-P
One lovely thing that happened to me recently was a mystery parcel arriving, full of tiny model red and white spotty toadstools from a very lovely blogger who’d sent them to me “just because” she knew I’d like them. It made my week.
Such a neat story! I like to get in the drive-thru line at Tim Horton’s (donut and coffee place in Canada) and when I get to the window, ask if I can pay for the order behind me. It’s little, but it’s kind of fun!
Well, I am going to say it anyway…that was really kind. I bet she will pay it forward…for real. Last year I was listening to my local radio station and everyday, they would adopt a family. They would say the things they wanted on the radio and people or even companies would call up and say what they would donate. Well, this one particular day they needed winter coats and hats for these to preteens. I had noticed a lot of people really jump on the stuff for the little ones, not so much for the older ones. And, you said…had a bit of a tear in my eye, and I made the call. It was great. My friend even bought one of the coats when I told her about it. We went shopping and then I wrapped them up and threw in some books and markers, too. It was just the right thing to do.
It was a very nice thing for you to do and I don’t mind saying so! So nice to know there are still some very caring people out there. Seems like all we hear are bad things on the news. Kudos to you!
Making someone happy is a good thing, Anna!
acts of kindness are truly blessings…you should feel blessed.
i do random acts of kindness but, truly anna, i can always do more.
time for reflection & follow my heart for the spontaneous acts that pay it forward.
you are very special. :)
I’m not too surprised at your great help for this stranger. You did the same thing for me helping out on the wedding quilt for my daughter! I’m an admirer!
awesome Anna! i am so there with you! my son and I were at Concordia thrift and i asked the clerk if i could buy just a few pieces of fabric in a bag of mostly junk…she just said, take it…no one will miss it. made me happy dont you know? well hugo then said, lets go get our hot chocolate across the street at the firefly…well the lady was telling hugo to be careful its hot etc…just nice banter…when we got to the fly i decided to get a hot chocolate for the clerk too…she was so surprised and grateful.. i swear i had a smile on my face all day long!
I had been gathering some items to mail to my son who is deployed. He had said that he wanted a certain hair product. I called our local beauty supply store and they had them at half price so I ran down and got one (he has really short hair and I thought one would last a long time! LOL!). I told the owner that I was putting together a package for my son. She asked where he was and when I told her she gave me not one, but two of the hair product plus some other things as well. She has a brother in the military and said she appreciated what my son was doing. I cried like a baby right in the story. So to you Nancy, bless your heart!!!
Wonderful story… I am like you and usually miss my chance. I am smiling from ear to ear thinking of your kindness. I will need to pay it forward somehow. Merry Christmas… I love your Santa
Great story! Thanks for sharing – it doesn’t hurt to be reminded that we can all do little things for each other and make life better for all of us! Merry Christmas – and Boiler Up!
Anna, there is so much sadness and unhappiness in life that it just makes it all worthwhile when we can do a little something to make it better, even if it is just for one. I think it’s wonderful, and I hope it inspires more people to just do something, anything nice for someone else. Just to tell someone how they have blessed you means to world to the person who has been standing and smiling and trying to do the right thing. I always try to be extra nice to whoever, wherever is serving me. They get such ill treatment from so many people, so I try to make up for it just a bit.
And…….you’re just a nice person. :)
I’m so glad you told the story and so glad you didn’t turn comments off…it’s so refreshing to read about good things in a world where the news is almost always something negative. I try to do simple acts of kindness…so many times I think of things I could have done…this is a wake-up to me….that it’s okay to go back and give the service as you did!
Well, it’s obvious you just want to flaunt your kindness, Anna. How rude of you!
Are you kidding me? Ofcourse you can tell stories like this. You should! Not only because it inspires me and other people to reach out to other people as well, but also because it is silly to not dare to share them. How weird is it that it’s ok to tell all the mistakes we make, all the bad things we do, all the dark thoughts we have, but somehow wrong to be open about everything in us that is good, beautiful and kind?
I think you are a wonderful person. I ofcourse only ‘know’ you through our blogs and some e-mails here and there, but I hope you’ll allow me to say here in this comment that I think you are sweet, humorous and very kind and that I suspect you have a huge, warm heart. It’s a pleasure to get to know you bit by bit and I look forward to reading lots more from you.
Oh. And it was a very sweet thing to do. That too. :-)
what a lovely thing to do Anna :-)
hi anna!
sorry to let you down, but i still think it’s such a sweet thing to do. thank you for sharing ~ it reminds me to keep my eyes open whether i am able to brighten someone’s day…i think we all should keep this in mind!
hope you have had a wonderful weekend,
julia
Well that is the christmas spirit.
Well done.
So in the end all of you had a good feeling.
Have a great day
Janine
Great story – just what Christmas is about!!
There was a totally obnoxious girl scout, yelling at us, outside my bank, and even though I had approval from all customers/staff inside, I didn’t spray her with the fire extinguisher.
I hope “Lucy” pays it forward! We picked out presents for the giving tree, although I’m not quite sure Jaxon got it…
Such a sweet story and kind offer Anna! Acts of kindness will always be remembered and make the world a better place!
That is a story that really shows the Christmas spirit. What’s nice is that not only did you impact the clerk, but she will tell the story to her niece who it will impact, also. The good will come back around to you!
If we would all do kind things for each other on a regular basis, this world would be a much better place. How nice of you Anna!
Now that’s a real Christmas post. . . all about the true meaning of the spirit of Christmas. I especially love that you went back. . . to tell her you’d embroider them for her. Don’t you just love paying it forward?!!! I think when we do – we get so much out of it as well. Merry Christmas Anna!
xo, Bren
Anna!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You rock. And, you can no longer say that you are an RAOK chicken! ;) I love what you did.
I’ve been taking every moment with Nathan and haven’t been by ’til now but, I have to say that:
1. Your kitties are so bad they’re cute.
2. The socks are beautiful (or, they will be.)
3. I am so glad that little boy was able to meet Billy Collins.
4. The advent calendar bunting is awesome! I have to make one.
5. Divine Twine is on my Christmas list.
I hope that you are staying warm and cozy. We had snow today! Yay.
I try to be a bright spot in the day for salespeople, cashiers, etc., that I come in contact with, especially during the holiday season. Sometimes it’s harder than others, but I’ve learned to just leave my temper at home (especially if I’m headed to WalMart : ) I will have to say that the majority, if not all, respond positively to me and I can tell they appreciate my cheerful attitude and kind words. Last week at the burger drive-through I was honestly impressed with how clean things were. It just so happened that the manager was taking my order, so I complemented him. When he gave me my order, he thanked me and said that he added a little something. When I got home, I was thrilled to find two luscious chocolate fried pies – YUM.
Oh Anna my darling friend you are always doing nice and wonderful things for people. There is going to be many jewels in your crown when you get to heaven. Love you! BTW let me know the next time you are “driving thru” somewhere and I will follow. LOL Like a jewelry store! Kisses
I guess that was a random act of kindness. Good for you.
Oh that story made me happy. Thanks for sharing it. I won’t give you lots of props because (apparently) you don’t want to hear it, but let’s just say it warmed my heart :) I’m trying a little harder to try to do that more. Thanks for the reminder. Oh, and I love your Santa.
Oh what a lovely random act of kindness! I think I had a tear in my eye reading that too.
Thank for this little bit of inspiration! My goal (or one of them) this week – be a little bit more like Anna!
(time is flying by isn’t it! Sadly still no Christmas post on my blog!)
awwwwwwwwwwwwww that’s the christmas spirit we like to see! oh no don’t go turning comments off on us!
I now actually send anyone who wants sewing done to my old neighbour! she loves to sew and loves the pocket money! win win!
corrie:)
It was a heartwarming story and a lovely thing that you did!
I’m so glad that you shared that with us and didn’t turned off the comments. It’s hard sometimes to take a leap of faith like that but what a wonderfully warm feeling for all concerned when it pays off!
What a wonderful RAOK!
Oh, Anna, you did write a Christmas post after all! Isn’t that truly the spirit of the season? XO
I am especially glad that you told the story about saying no at first and then going back. Way to often we let the moment get past us and then are too embarrassed to go back and jump in! This was such a timely reminder. Happy Holidays Anna!
That is so awesome of you! Love it!
My husband and I decided one year that we wanted to do Christmas for some one in need instead of doing x-mas for each other. So we looked for a family in need and out local church had a couple that had a litte girl of 3 and a small baby, we decided to go all out not know the real need of these people. We bought gifts for the little ones as if they where our own , (THEY GOT MORE THAN ONE) and small gifts for the whole family, also we got the family an entire Christmas dinner and a few extra things for their food pantry. When we went to deliver it the day before Christmas we went in their home not a Christmas thing in sight not even a tree, I felt so good about what we had done and the family was so grateful and I thing they did not expect that much at all. When you think of needy people you think of them not having much of anything the only thing that was lacking in this home was christmas, it was the tidiest and well organized little place I had ever seen. I went away with happy tears in my eye and was so thankful for what we had in our lives. It felt so good to give. While I was shopping for this family I was being told by others that i was doing too much that I was only suppose to do the the children and just one gift, boy I’m I glad I did not listen to them. It felt so good know that that family would have a great xmas. Thanks for sharing your story. Sorry mine was so long!!!?
Anna. You are AWESOME. You just made Lucy and Liza day. For sure.
that was so nice of you to do that for Lucy the Target cashier. doesn’t that make you feel good all over? that kind of kindness is addictive!
Anna, Thank you for sharing that story. It was a kind and thoughtful thing to do. It was also a good reminder to me that I need to be more open and aware when a kindness opportunity presents itself. Those towels look great too, by the way. :)
My next door neighbor purchased an embroidery machine about one year ago and very graciously embroidered names on four goofy bags (made from your tutorial) for four co-workers. My neighbor does a lot of the same “crafts” that I do and is now retired but to say thanks and brighten her day I purchased her a bouquet of flowers from the man who has a flower stand on the sidewalk here in Harrisburg, PA. She was thrilled and even though it wasn’t “paying forward” I knew it was something she wouldn’t buy for herself.
Good on you! Stories like this inspire others, so TELL IT, GIRL!
Plus, you gotta love the new Boilermaker.
Well done you! As a Brownie and Girl Guide, I grew up doing a good deed every day ….. something I still try to do, even if it’s just holding a door open for a little old lady.
They came out beautifully! What a nice thing to do, really, and that just extended the gift to include you, too – so you get the fun of being a good gift giver without having to buy or wrap the gift :)
Once upon a time I had a horrible manager who was a mean IWONTSAYWHAT and, when it came time for us to relocate our offices, I sneaked a little plea to the admin doing the reorganizing – hoping that she could just put me as far from this evil manager as possible.
Well, bless her, she really came through. Moved me halfway across the office and it was a godsend.
We happened to share a hairdresser at the time, so when I went in for my color/cut, I prepaid for her next color/cut when I checked out, as a thank you. She was really thrilled when, 3 weeks later, she went in and found that her highlight and cut were paid for. And I didn’t have to see that evil manager every minute of my friggen day.
SO WORTH IT.
I’m going to take a leaf out of your book and do something nice for a person (I’ll try for one thing a day; let’s see how I’m getting on). Thanks for the inspiration.
Ooo I need to come back when I have more time to read all the comments.
For now I’ll just say that giving is the best gift. I love the feeling you get when surprising someone with kindness.
It’s true – the best gift is to give. Even when I can’t do something big, the merest act of letting a car out into the traffic can make me smile. Thanks for the reminder of what a good feeling it is.
That brought tears to my eyes. I know you aren’t looking for compliments, but it was truly a wonderful thing to do. And by sharing it with all of us, you’ve planted seeds for more of us to do something like that, too.
Well I think your post is better than a Christmas post. I love how you used you special gifts to help someone else. That is wonderful xoxo Clarice
you were truly a christmas angel for her!
What a nice story :)
I’m glad you told us your story about Lucy and the embroidered towels. It inspires the rest of us to do nice things.
You ARE nice. And good.
Jody
Awwwwww you are so SWEET! When we still had parking meters, I used to put money into a someone’s meter if they ran out of time and the meter dude was coming around ticketing. Of course, now there is no parking meters….those darn computerized parking systems are a drag.
I am so glad you shared this. More people should do this more often, it does the body good. I am doing the 12 days of Christmas with two neighbours. My kids are totally thrilled to do this and the excitement for Christmas is turning from what they want for Christmas to what are we going to give out neighbours. They are silly and sweet. For example tomorrow we are going to give them cute 80 page list note pads (the cute ones you get from Target for a dollar) and this is what the note says: On the forth day of Christmas my ‘true’ neighbour gave to me some Christmas paper recycled from a tree. SO MUCH CHRITSMAS FUN.
Hey love the towels and the santa! Can you send some inspiration my way? I desperately need some and some spare time. Those are my wishes to Santa this year!
So is anyone taking the Brave Girl class?
Last winter on my way to knitting with friends I noticed a man holding a sign about Cash for Gold…you know they seem to be everywhere. He was freezing so on the way back he was still there and I made a U-turn, went to Starbucks and got him a hot chocolate (didn’t know if he liked coffee – but everyone loves hot chocolate, right).
I pulled over and gave it to him and he just looked kind of stunned when I said “You look so cold, would you like some hot chocolate”. I almost thought he spoke another language. But I drove all the way home with a smile on my face. Thanks Anna for posting about Brave Girls- you find the neatest links. Happy Holidays, Robin
love the towels too…Go Boilers!
sweet story! Thanks for giving to Lucy. Hope we’re all giving a little to those around us. Makes our world a much happier place! And I’m glad too that you let people comment!! What great stories!
This is so heart-warming Anna – how lovely! I can tell you about a random act of kindness I received once. I was three days from having MissP2 (it turned out). I was dying to see a particular film (I’m rather ashamed of what it was – not very high brow at all!) I’d booked my ticket and waddled to the cinema. I put my card in the machine and nothing came out. I asked for help – there must be some mistake right? The assistant checked the lists – my name wasn’t down. He suggested gently that I might have come to the wrong cinema. I realised with a sinking feeling that he was right. I didn’t have time to get to the other cinema and there’s no way I would be able to run anyway!
What happened next blew me away. He disappeared and pressed a piece of paper into my hand. He’d given me a ticket and said ‘By the looks of you you might not manage to see it before the baby comes.’ I offered to pay but he refused. How wonderful is that? I’ve always remembered it. It was wonderful.
One day I’d really like to meet you…you sound like my kind of lady! What a great story and what a great idea! I never thought of monogramming towels!
I think we all need to remember how to pay it forward…and just think of the wonderful chain reaction you might have caused! You Go Girl!
This was such a nice thing to do and those towels look really classy with the name on them! It is good to be reminded about being nice to strangers every now and again – thanks for the post!
oh lovely lovely story… have a wonderful Christmas!
Thank you
Awwwww…that was just so sweet of you. I’m sure you just made her day and she’ll never forget that!
You do really beautiful work by the way!! :)
Hello Anna
I found your blog a while ago but have not posted yet as have been enjoying reading all of your posts so far but really wanted to add to the comments here.
A few years ago I watched the film Evan Almighty and it had a really big impact on me. In the film Evan keeps feeling he has to build an Ark to save people from a flood and he does but at the end he meets up with God and askd him why the Ark and how can he really save everybody?
And God says ARK stands for Acts of Random Kindness and if we do that will will save humanity. I have had so many times when people have been really kind to me and it does make such a difference.
My personal motto is taken from a song I heard a long time ago – ‘if I can help somebody as I pass on my way then my living shall not be in vain’.
Thanks for a wonderful blog.
Alison