by Shana Rank
On a recent adventure with my youngest son, while we were looking for special rocks and beads at a local craft store, we had an interesting encounter. We slowly moved around two aisles for almost half an hour, looking and thinking, when one of the employees—a young man, determined to engage my son in conversation—asked him a handful of questions, hoping to help my son make a decision on a purchase. All I could think to myself was how patient this employee was.
Rushed by the fact that we needed to leave in order to pick up my older son from school, I gave a final “warning” to my son—with a calculated eye, he found a strand of glass beads shaped like stars. We hurried over to the register, only to be stopped by the young man who had just been helping us. The employee pulled out a handful of dollars and asked my son if he would like to add the sum to his own allowance to help pay for the beads. My son shyly said “thank you,” and the employee scooted off. I was humbled at that moment and couldn’t help but smile. What a great act of unsolicited kindness!
I really enjoy these types of experiences, when I am struck by character qualities (in this case kindness) that people are capable of. These are the same character qualities that I should exemplify!
