It's almost Christmas time. I always hope that this makes people kinder and gentler. Sometimes that's true, but not all the time. However, I've been lucky this season and I'll share with you two quick anecdotes.
Around two weeks ago Brie and I decided to ride to work together because we were expecting inclement weather and Kitty wanted me in a safe SUV. Never mind the fact that I'm an extremely safe driver: Brie has an all wheel drive Tucson. So off we went.
Brie wanted to stop at Dunkies to get an iced latte; and I decided to get a small milk to take to work for my cereal. Brie gave the order and we drove up to the window. Since the cashier hadn't given her the price, she asked her when we got to the window. The cashier said, "No charge. The person ahead of you paid for yours too." Needless to say we were flabbergasted. "Wow, that's awesome!" we enthused. Then Brie said, "Now I want to pay for the car behind me. How much?" The cashier told her and Brie paid: happy to pay it forward.
Yesterday I had to go to a certain store to buy a certain someone a certain present. This involved driving back to Saratoga after I had already been home. So in the rain I drove there. I located the item, or items and noticed none were on sale. Sighing, I hoped there would be a coupon in their flyer. Nope! So I resigned myself to paying full price.
Heading for the register, I hoped that I would get a kind looking cashier to ring me up, but it was a dour-faced older woman at the register. So no asking her about a coupon!
As she was ringing me up, I said, "I'm surprised you guys don't have any coupons this week." She looked at me and after a moment said, "I think I have a coupon we can use." Imagine how happy I was to hear that! So she finished ringing me up, waved a receipt-looking piece of paper under the scanner and announced, "$37.89." My jaw almost dropped. That was a big drop in how much it was supposed to be! I told her thank you, paid and when I took my receipt I saw it had on the bottom 'total savings $43.27'! How had she made that happen?
I thanked her again and she replied, "Merry Christmas." I couldn't believe it. It's hard to find people that still say that! "Merry Christmas to you too! It's always Merry Christmas to me." "Me too!" she said enthusiastically. We smiled and then I left the store, feeling light-hearted in spite of the rain. Who would have thought the dour-faced lady would have been so nice?
I guess it's the power of the season. I'm happy that it is! This time of year certainly brings out the best in people. I can't wait to see what else is in store as we get closer to Christmas. And I can't wait to see what I do to makes people's days brighter! It's all about paying it forward; and there's no better time than the present.
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