Friday, January 04, 2008

$5 Changes A Lot

On my way home tonight I stopped at McDonalds to get something to eat and something interesting happened.

I normally just go through the drive-thru, but for some reason decided to go inside. As I was waiting for my order a woman walked up and placed her order. As she went to pay she was digging through her purse to try to come up with the $1.96. She then stepped over next to me and we made eye contact. She kind of smiled at me and then started asking me if I knew how much the cookies were. I told her that I thought they were 3 for a dollar. She then asked me if I knew how much just one would be. I had decided to give her a dollar so she could get the cookies. As I got the dollar out of my wallet she smiled and said she has just fallen on hard times. The way she said it I knew it was true and that it was hard for her to ask a stranger for money. I then put the dollar back and pulled out a $5. As I handed it to her it was like she didn't know what to say. She took it and thanked me and again said how she had just fallen on hard times.

There was a reason I ran into this woman tonight.

I have a lot to be grateful for in my life. Things are bad (well, really bad), but things could always be worse. Seeing this woman struggle to come up with enough money for a couple cheeseburgers put everything in perspective for me.

I would also like to thank each of you for the many emails and very touching comments. It's a wonderful feeling to know that there are so many out there that are on my side and care so much about me. I heart each of you.

5 comments:

Tessa said...

reading your post made my heart swell... good for you! I'm proud of you for helping her.

Audra said...

That is really great. One day I had a very similar experience. A mom and her daughter were at McD's and she was 5 cents short for a cheeseburger. Of course they wouldnt cover her. So I told them to both just get a meal, and I would pay. The little girl looked so excited that she could have her very own happy meal! It really made me feel special, eventhough I really didn't have the money to spend, it was great to be able to help someone else.

Wendy aka Cheeky said...

I hope when she is able - she will pay it forward.

Minnesota Nice said...

I was just thinking exactly what Cheeky said - if every single person did what they could for someone worse of than them, we'd ALL be so much happier!

B.E.C.K. said...

That was so sweet of you, and I'm sure it was meaningful to her. I think you blessed each other, really. :)