Friday, January 22, 2010

Random Act of Kindness

Happy Friday y'all! What a week it has been. I am really looking forward to a plan-free weekend. It's great to have fun things planned, but sometimes I need a weekend where I have nothing going on so I can just be a bit of a hermit. I plan on running, reading, knitting, and watching the first 2 discs of Season 1 of Arrested Development. Everyone who watches it raves about it so I am hoping I love it, too. I have a huge crush on Michael Cera so I am sure I'll love it! I just love how awkward Michael Cera is - makes him even more endearing in my opinion!

Oh, and do you want to put in your two cents on the next Blogger Book Club Book? If so, go here and make a suggestion! We'll vote towards the end of the month! Is anyone reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo? I read it this fall & really enjoyed it so it's definitely worth checking out!

Anyways, I was all set to share my Potato Soup recipe today, but that will have to wait until Monday (I'm sure my old co-worker Pat is happy to read that. He hates my recipes posts. Do you?).

Instead I have a little story to share with you.

Yesterday, we had this lovely freezing drizzle. I mean, who doesn't love freezing rain? I don't love snow, but I will say I would prefer that to freezing rain.

It had been a long day at work and I was really not looking forward to scraping the windows of my car. The bus dropped me off at the parking lot where I park and I saw the layer of ice gleaming from other people's cars, but when I saw my car from afar, it didn't look like it had that lovely layer of ice. Hmm, very puzzling.

Well, folks, that is because it didn't.

Someone scraped my windows for me. And they didn't do a half-arse job, either. They scraped the entire windshield and both the front & back driver- & passenger-side windows. They actually did a better job than I would have.

I have NO idea who did this. Even though I have rode the bus for nearly 3 years, I have not made any friends. I get on the bus around 6:45 in the am and I am just not in a chit chat kind of mood. I get back on the bus at 5:50 pm and, once again, am really not in the chit chat mood. So it's not like I have a bus buddy who decided to do me a favor.

And I highly doubt I have a secret admirer!

So I can only assume it was a random act of kindness! Maybe someone else is working on a 30 by 30 or 101 in 1001 list or something and wanted to check "perform random act of kindness" off their list!

Let me just say - it made my day. Totally.

So tell me - have you ever been on the receiving end of a random act of kindness? Have you ever performed a random act of kindness for a stranger? If so, do tell!

19 comments:

Erin said...

I love plan-free weekends, too!

When I was a server in college, we had n unspoken "rule". Ifit snowed, whoever was lucky enough to be cut (off) fisrt whould scrape the car windows of those still on the floor. It started as a random act of kindnes and snowballed from there!

I'maNolaGirl said...

I love moments when you're carrying a stack of boxes and someone runs over to open the door for you. That has happened to me a few times, and it always makes my day.

Jess said...

I love that! Most of the time, at the end of a long work day, we're focused on getting ourselves home, making supper, etc. etc. Not really giving a lot of thought to the fact that other people are feeling the exact same way. That's really amazing of whoever did that!

I like your recipe posts! I've bookmarked most of them to try them in the future. (Ha, I'm not the greatest cook!) They always look so tasty.

Hope you have a great (non-plan) weekend. Sometimes those are the best. Arrested Development is hilarious. Hope you enjoy!

Nicole said...

Plan free weekends are awesome, even if they are most of my weekends. I guess I'm just a hermit.

That is so awesome that someone cleared your car off for you. Ice is the worst! I have a coworker that will help clear cars in the winter, especially for the pregnant ladies.

Nora said...

That is the sweetest thing ever! Definitely a lovely way to end a work day.

My old roomy once did that for me; we had a ton of snow and he went out, got the ice & snow off my car and even started it for me. That was pretty awesome.

I don't think I've performed a random act like that in the past that was anonymous but I have definitely helped out a few elderly people here and there (one of them offered to kiss me as a thank you!)

And I do not hate your recipes; I always like to see what you make/gives me new ideas :)

Sarah said...

Ahhh that's so nice. It's amazing how such a small act of kindness can make such a difference to a person's mood!

This week a girl at uni decided that she wanted to do a random act of kindness and bought an extra sandwich at lunch to give to a random stranger. It was a very sweet gesture. Unfortunately I was the random stranger, and I really didn't want the sandwich! I felt so terrible! I had to take it, but then I gave it away to someone else, so at least I passed it forward.

Abby said...

I love free weekends!!! :) I have one this weekend since I'm between classes!

That's neat about the car scraping! Let's hope it is just a random act and not a stalker!!!!

Enjoy your hassle-free days!!

J said...

Wow that is really nice! Totaly makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and happy! Hope you have a great weekend!

Amber said...

That is SO COOL! I wonder who did it!! Awww, how nice. What a nice thing to come back to!

I LOVE your recipe posts, I made the beef stew the other day and it was AMAZING. And I'm interested to hear about the potato soup.

My mom says she doesn't like my Monday Meeting posts because they're "boring" and she'd rather read about my life. Mothers...

Have a fabulous weekend, lovely! XO

Leigh said...

That's so cool that someone did that for you! It'd be funny and neat to find out who that person really was.

I tried to be nice and do the same for my fiance one morning, but failed to remember that he has an alarm and scraping his windshields will set it off. Atleast I tried to do something nice!

I hope you have a great planless weekend!

Kelly said...

I received a similar act of kindness last year. When I first bought my house, we hadn't moved in yet so we were shoveling at our apartment and at our house. It was pretty annoying. One day I got to my house and the whole driveway was already shoveled! It turns out my sister's boyfriend did it for us! AMAZING!!! Not really "random" since he knows us, but still amazing!
I agree with you about plan-free weekends. Definitely my favorite!

Amber @ A Little Pink in the Cornfields said...

Ohhhh, I LOVE STUFF LIKE THIS!!! It is so cool!!!

I almost picked up that book today at BN, it was on the But 2 get 1 free table... I might go back. There were a couple others I wanted and I have a gift card...

(Can you tell I have talk myself through purchases? LOL!)

Marlys said...

What a kind, thoughtful act that was! I would have been moved to tears! Now to pass it on! Have a great weekend and I hope you don't get the storm we are supposed to get! 12 - 24" of new snow preceeded by 1/4" of freezing rain!
I hope we don't lose power!

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

Ah, that's awesome! Kind of like putting extra change in someone's expired meter, but better! Perhaps the person was parked right next to you and wanted to extend the gesture as they were scraping their own windows. How nice.

Carolina John said...

you will love arrested development. it's one of the best shows to ever appear on tv ever. wonderful!

very cool getting your windows scraped. that kind of thing never happens here.

Little Fish said...

That is so lovely! I can't tell you how many times I've been struggling to lug a heavy suitcase up the subway stairs and a man walks up to me and says let me get that and carries it for me. Also, because I'm so short, every time I'm reaching for something high in the supermarket and just can't get it a taller person comes over and grabs it for me.

BTW- I love recipe posts.

Kyla Roma said...

Ha! No way, that's amazing! Love that someone had your day, I should pull that move after a snowstorm here!

Anais said...

That is SO sweet!!! It gave me goosebumps :)

I'm trying to think of the last time I did one or someone was kind to me... and I know there ARE some but I just can't remember :(

ps: I love the recipe posts - keep them coming!

Mama Nastase said...

I love the recipe posts, too! I think that random act of kindness was awesome!! Did you pay it forward?