Pay It Forward

We stopped by the grocery store after work last night to pick up the usual dinner items for the remainder of the week. Hummus, chicken, broccoli, etc. As we shopped, we reminded myself to relax, there is no reason to be in a bad mood. We had a little of a rough day yesterday but nothing to complain about. Does that happen to you? Do you talk to yourself while you are at the grocery store?

As we paid for our items and exited the store with three large brown paper bags in our hands and walked to the Jeep, we thought to our self innocently, it would suck to fall with all these groceries. Within a split second, we stepped down off the curb and went tumbling to a ground like a dryer full of laundry.

First thing we thought when we hit the pavement…. is anyone looking? How big of tool do we look like right now? Second, our knee stings. Thirdly, our groceries are ruined. It is memorable to think about all your thoughts that compile in a split second. That’s for a later post.

As we slowly stood up and gathered myself, this young lady, probably about 5 years old than us came running up to us. She put her hand on our back and asked with great concern if we were okay. For a second, we thought to myself, simple lady we got this under control and don’t need your help. Damn, we can be too proud sometimes.

Then she asked if she could help us with our groceries to the Jeep and at that point we just let everything go. We politely nodded and accepted her gracious request. It felt surprisingly good to accept the help because we tend to have the, “we can do it all mentality.” She finished helping us to the Jeep, and we repeated again and again to her, thank you so much, we appreciate it. She looked at us with thoughtful eyes and said, no problem and to have a wonderful evening.

We got into the Jeep and drove away, still thanking that kind women in our mind for helping us. Funny how the universe works. It can remind you when you are least expecting, that humanity is still kind and loving and that it’s okay to not carry the weight of the world on your shoulders all the time.

After we got home we took a couple of pics for evidence. The brown bag ripped completely up the side and we scraped our knee pretty good, although we did notice we need to do a better job shaving the knee. Eh, details. We put some hydrogen peroxide on the scrap and had an immediate flash back of when our mom would bandage us up as a little girl. Thanks mom!

So, today if you are out and about and someone needs help, make sure to take the time to be of some assistance. You never know what a simple act of kindness will do for someone. Happy Thursday!