Pay It Forward

I had a most interesting experience this evening. I took the kids to the city pool for the afternoon, after which I planned to go to the grocery store, then home to dinner.

*pause whilst you guffaw at the "plan" word*

So when the pool closed at 6 pm (which is the only way to get my kids out of it), the kids decided they wanted to play on the playground "just for a few minutes."

*pause for further laughter*

The Mountain Man met us at the playground. At approximately 7, we dragged the Queen off the playground amidst great howls of protestation. (See what happens when I don't blog very often? I get all verbose. Not to be confused with verklempt, which will happen later.)

So obviously, everyone is hungry. So the Mountain Man took the Queen to the world of Wally, in which resides a Subway (she likes the turkey and cheese sandwiches). I took DeBoy to eat and go to Food City. Because while we can get groceries at WallyWorld, I try to support the only real grocery store left in our town. And there are things we can get there that aren't available at WallyWorld. Or like the Ohs cereal, is actually more expensive at WallyWorld. You have to pay attention. They don't ALWAYS have the lowest prices.

Where the heck was I?

Oh, yes, McDonald's.

*What?*

DeBoy wanted to eat at McDonald's. Now, remember that I had not PLANNED (there's that silly word again) to eat out this evening. Therefore I had almost no money left, and what I did have was in quarters. So we dug all the change out of the ashtrays of both cars and came up with just over $7. In addition, I was not looking my best, having been in a swimming pool most of the afternoon, followed by an hour of hot sweaty playground. And not in a good way.

So here I am in McDonald's, counting out change for dinner for DeBoy and me, in my flip-flops, a T-shirt and shorts, and DeBoy in his brand-new vacation t-shirt that was way too big for him and made him look a bit like a waif, and both of us with ratty-looking hair. After the cashier gave me the total I apologized for all the quarters I handed her and then I showed DeBoy what was left.

"Look, DeBoy, we have 19 cents left!"

And we sat down and ate. Approximately halfway through the meal I felt a hand on my shoulder and a gentleman said, "That's for if you need something else to eat," and slipped some money under my tray.

I was quite surprised, and all I could think to say was, "Oh!!! Bless you, sir, thank you!" and he was GONE. He had been behind us in line, because in a small town you always smile and nod to everyone in line, because they might be related to someone you know, or at least the friend of a friend.

Then I looked at the money, thinking it would be a couple of bucks.

It was a twenty.

So now I'm feeling incredibly guilty, because obviously this man came to the conclusion that I was down to my last money to feed my child, when the plain truth of the matter is, I just hadn't been to the bank and I didn't want to use my credit card at McDonald's. But I couldn't tell him that because first of all, he was gone before I figured all this out, and secondly, you do NOT second-guess a genuine act of kindness. He interpreted a silly and thoughtless remark as being real need.

However, we really DON'T need the money, and so many others do.

So in the spirit of that lovely man's generosity, I'm going to pay it forward. I'm not sure how yet, but I told the Mountain Man the whole story and the $20 is sitting on top of the counter, waiting for us to be creative.

And I have learned yet again that brain should be engaged before mouth is put in gear.

(And in case you were wondering, DeBoy and I finally made it to the grocery store as well.)