Pay It <<FAST>> Forward
Today, I came home early after a rather loooooooooooooooooooooong week and our babysitter was finishing up a craft our children looked to be really enjoying. The plan was to get home early, bring her home, and, since I already had the kids strapped tightly in their seats (so they couldn't bail when they found out we were going grocery shopping), to head to the store for a few items before my husband got home. They were so engaged with their paint brushes and picking out the "perfect" shades of paint that I didn't have the heart to stop them, so I asked Angela if she could stay just a little bit longer. This way, I figured, I could make the store run and they could have time to finish up their crafts. She agreed, so off I went.
Knowing I have absolutely no self control when it comes to shopping, keeping the goal in mind that I wanted to be in and out of Aldi's, I decided to not grab a cart. With two gallons of milk in one hand and two dozen eggs, a bag of tortilla chips, two bags of baby carrots, one package of regular carrots, a bunch of bananas, a can of Pringles, and a cantaloupe all in a box in a hip-hold with my other hand, I was set to check out. Now I was three people in and holding all this in my hands, waiting patiently, trying not to grimace over the chill the two gallons of milk were initiating through my arm. Just then, the lady in front of me turned around to glance behind her, noticing me and she asked if I wanted to place my cartons of milk in the front of her cart while we waited. Beyond grateful, I told her thank you and explained I was in a rush to get home to relieve my babysitter and knew, if I got a cart, my shopping trip would have been extended and I just wanted to get home.
As I unloaded my cart, and this lady who offered me her cart began checking out, another lady in an electric scooter came up and began unpacking. I asked for her permission (keeping in mind that some people find it offensive if you help them) and began helping her. She gratefully accepted as she continued pulling more and more items from the bags that were tied onto her cart. Laughing that she almost had forgotten, she reached under her scooter to grab two more gallons of milk, dropping things as she attempted to reach the conveyor belt. She had four bags tied to the front of her cart and two attached to the back of her seat. Truly amazing! At this point, I decided to stay and assist her in packing everything back into her bags. A few minutes wouldn't matter if I also helped her pack up her car... As we unloaded the last of her bags, it was almost my turn to check out. At this point, the lady behind the one in the scooter asked the lady if she could cut in front of her, since all she had was a rose to check out. The one in the scooter agreed as the woman with the rose navigated, with some obvious difficulty, around the bag-filled scooter. I stopped the clerk and told the lady with the rose she could go ahead of me. When the clerk checked me out, I quickly packed all my items back in the box and told her I would be setting my items on the shelf behind us so I could help the lady behind me pack up her things.
Wouldn't you know it? As I was reaching for my two gallons of milk and sharing my plans with the cashier, the lady who was in front of me, who I had been pretty much paid no attention to after I turned around to see the lady behind me needing assistance, was there. She told me to go ahead and go home to my children and she would assist since she didn't have little ones at home and it was clear this lady needed help. Long story short (oops... too late for that!), I was almost in tears thanking her for her kindness as I planned on staying to assist more and she, in turn, noticed this was my intentions and decided to take it upon herself to assist. It really was a humbling experience to see someone else picking up on paying it forward and taking the opportunity to assist the one trying to pay it forward. I would have stayed and continued to assist, but I decided to take her up on it, realizing I may have started a chain reaction. Pay it FAST forward! :)
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"Cast thy bread upon the waters:
for thou shalt find it after many days."
(Ecclesiastes 11:1)
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New story. Now I am home and enter the bathroom. Being a teacher, I realized I had not used the bathroom, since I left the house this morning...true story, ugh! I enter the bathroom and am not at all satisfied. Hmm... Strategize.... Strategize...Okay, this will be worth it.
I call all three kids into the bathroom. Gabriel is the first to arrive. I ask him what three things are clearly wrong in the bathroom and he points out the towel on the floor, the toilet not being flushed, and the toilet paper roll being empty (4.5 seconds). After two more calls, Noah comes trotting in. Same question for him with the same answers in a new record time of 3 seconds. Three more calls (surreal, I know), Lucy comes in. Same question and her response was "Well, the towel's on the floor. I'll pick it up." (identification of the problem and within a second is reaching down to pick up the towel) BAM! This springs the boys into action. Noah reaches over Lucy to flush the toilet and Gabe announces he will change the roll of toilet paper and goes about following through. Pay it FAST forward! :)
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Lesson: We can talk all we want, but our actions are more meaningful and powerful than anything we put to words alone, thus starting a chain reaction of others. Following by example.
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