Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Kindness


I spent all day in the car. At 9:20, I left home and headed to Frisco to run an Ikea errand I've been putting off for weeks. I arrived back in Fort Worth in time to take Dani to the doctor at 1:00. After dropping her off, I headed downtown to pick up Darren from work, and dropped him off at his massage appointment. From there, I made a quick stop at Vending Nut Co. for walnuts and dried apricots, and made it back to Dani's doctor just in time to pick her up. Dropped her off at school, stopped at Family Dollar for a few necessities, and made it to the massage therapist just as Darren was walking out the door. Then straight to the boys' school for pickup time. And finally, at 3:15, I was back home.

When I walked into the family room, I immediately noticed a grocery bag sitting outside on the front porch. Inside it was a shopping bag from Old Navy. My first thought was that Dani had lost an article of clothing on her NYC trip last weekend, and it had been returned by one of her friends' Moms. But no - it was a new shirt. In MY size.

Well, wait. Not exactly my size. It was in a size I wouldn't have even bothered to take off the rack, much less try on. But I LOVED the shirt. It's one of my favorite colors, and I loved the style. I came back in the house, showed it to Darren, and then immediately stripped off my t-shirt and slipped this one on. I couldn't believe it fit!

I looked again in the bags in search of a note, but there wasn't one. My first thought (and Darren's too) was Mecca, because the shirt looked like something she'd wear, and she's just the type to leave a gift like that. So I walked down to her house, but she swore it wasn't her. She DID tell me to see if anything was written on the sack, though.

Sure enough, I'd missed it the first time. There was a note.
"Pay it Forward!
Stacy, keep up the hard work!
Pay it forward with kindness."

I almost walked back down to Mecca's, because I was sure it must've been her.
Or Kristi. Or Cara. Or Megan. Maybe Tina. Marjorie! Possibly Wendy. Luann?

In the end, I decided to let it go and just enjoy the anonymity. That is SO hard for me to do. I wanna know who to hug and smooch!

I love the new shirt. I love the new size. But most of all, I love the spirit of whoever left it on my porch.

8 comments:

Jayne said...

How fun and what a kind gesture!

Brynn said...

Is that the new shirt that you have on? I LOVE that. What a wonderful surprise.

~~Carrie Ann said...

What a great story! And you really do look great, Stacy! The weight loss, the style of the shirt, and that color! VaVaVoom! ;) Thanks for sharing your PIF story! It is always good to remember there are kind, loving people in the world!

Veronica said...

Awww - that's so sweet. The shirt looks fabulous on you! RAKs are wonderful things :)

Jackietex said...

The blouse is pretty--and you look beautiful! Congratulations on how well you are doing!

DKelly said...

YOU bring out the best in people Stacy!!! What a sweet gesture from someone. The sincerest and most thoughtful idea of "whoever". I don't blame you for wanting to know. But it's almost empowering to "leave a tender moment alone" and enjoy it for what it is! Oh, AND you look awesome!!

Thanks for sharing!
Denise

Lee said...

What a great story! :) You look fabulous.

agent713 said...

It looks awesome too.

And can I just say, I am impressed by the excellent timing you had in your day :) Runnin' like a well oiled machine!