4 down, 26 to go… and I feel really good!

Thursday the 17th was GORGEOUS outside… like 60 degrees!  Yes, the 17th.  Of February.  No, I don’t live in Florida.  I did hear that Punxsutawney Phil predicted an early Spring but I didn’t think he meant THIS early.  Don’t worry though, we had a big fat reality check with flurries and bitter cold winds on Saturday morning.

 

Mother Nature must have been having a mood swing.

 

It was one of those beautiful days that just warranted getting outside and escaping the confines of… you know… walls and such.  I was also deliriously tired.  These two things put together demanded a trip to Dunkin Donuts for some coffee!  Because I’m not frequenting the drive-thru regularly (how the hell do you think I’m going to lose 15 pounds if I’m making weekly or even monthly trips to every burger/coffee joint in town?), I figured I’d take the opportunity to check something off my list while I was out and about!

 

I was pulling up to D’nD and practically had to cut off the car coming the opposite way to insure that someone would be behind me in the line.  A white Mitsubishi Eclipse with a younger woman in it pulled in behind me.  I didn’t know what she was planning on ordering but it didn’t matter.  I was crossing this off my list no matter what the cost.  Literally.

 

I’m just thankful the Duggars didn’t pull in behind me.  Just sayin’.

 

There was a long wait (not exactly “fast food” at this particular location) and I sat waiting for a while, stupidly jittery with excitement for what I was about to do.  I was imagining the woman’s surprise when she got to the little window.  Would she be shocked?  Happy?  Annoyed since I could see that she had already gotten her money out?  What was she going to order?  Was it something she ordered every day and knew the exact amount ahead of time?  I clearly waited for a while… and had a lot of time to think about this.  When I FINALLY got to the window, I handed over my credit card while proudly proclaiming, “and I’d like to pay for the person’s order behind me.”  I was beaming, so thrilled to be doing a nice gesture.  And he looked at me like I was crazy.

 

It’s not like my request was as weird as this!

“Uhhh… ok.  Hey, what was the order behind this one?” he shouted to his co-worker.  “Ok… she got a small french vanilla coffee” he reported back, matter of factly.  THAT’S IT???  I didn’t show my disappointment in her lack of doughnut binging; all I said was “ok, do me a favor and just ask her to pay it forward whenever she gets the chance.”  And I drove away.

 

Remember this movie?  The story was great but the ending was a big ‘ole slap in the face.

 

I’m not gonna lie… I felt FANTASTIC.  I didn’t care what her reaction was at that point.  I briefly glanced in my rear view mirror and thought I saw her smile as she slipped her $1.44 back into her wallet but I couldn’t be sure.  It didn’t matter.  I had done what I had come to do and was on my way back to work with a coffee for my co-worker to boot.

 

Why is it that it feels SO good to do things for others?  And it’s not like I did something grand!  Just a small token of kindness can change your whole outlook on the day.  I drove back to work, blaring Britney Spears some really great music with the windows down and my hair blowing in the wind and I felt like at that moment, I could conquer the world… one small gesture at a time.

That Dalai Lama… such a smart guy.

 

But why do we need to wait for the perfect moment to be kind?  Why don’t we do spontaneous acts of kindness more often?  And I’m not just saying why aren’t we kind (I would hope that’s part of humanity) but more along the lines of doing things for others without an expectation of reciprocation.  I think this is going to be on “my list” for the rest of my life.  Pay for someone in the drive-thru at least once a year.  I think that’s totally do-able.

 

 

Let’s let random acts of kindness slip out a little more often.

 

And wouldn’t you know… 2 days later I was in a bind at work.  I was running late, had lost my keys and couldn’t get my wallet out of my car and was $.35 short for a piece of pizza.  I’m sure the cashier could sense my insane shuffling and proceeded to pull two quarters out of her pocket.

 

You know what she said to me?  “Pay it forward some time.”  I was so happy I almost cried.

3. Pay for someone’s meal behind me in a drive-thru

 

Best thing I’ve done so far.

 

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.  If you want to be happy, practice compassion.  ~Dalai Lama (See??? Smart guy.)