Random Acts

A few nights ago, a friend of mine and her husband came home to find half a dozen roses on their porch. There was no note, nothing to identify the giver. They live in a fairly rural area, so someone would have had to drive to their house. When she told us, asking if any of us were the anonymous culprit, I told her I found it creepy and she agreed. Not long ago, another stranger (or perhaps the same one?) left a note on their door to tell them how much they enjoy driving by their house since they’ve renovated it. I thought that was sweet at the time. I still think it’s sweet, as long as it’s not the same person who left the flowers.*

But it got me thinking, have you ever done something for someone anonymously? Or something that someone couldn’t pay back? Not all random acts of kindness have to be creepy. When I was a senior in high school, I found myself underdressed and under-budgeted in a very expensive restaurant with a friend. After hearing us express our concerns to each other over the price of the menu and our t-shirt and jeans attire, a woman at the next table paid for our dinner. The sweetest part about it was, we didn’t know she’d footed the bill until we asked for it, long after she had left. To top it off, it had been her birthday and she had told the server she “just wanted to do something nice for someone else.” There was no way to thank her, she hadn’t spoken to us at all during the dinner, (but we knew she had noticed us as we’d heard her comment to her friends how cute we were for ordering iced teas) and left no way for us to repay the favor or even thank her. It struck me as such an unselfish gift. She didn't need or want the satisfaction of seeing our faces, or hearing a "Thank you", like so many of us (myself included) do when giving gifts.

That night, my friend and I vowed to pay it forward. One day, when we were able, we’d do the same for someone else. Whenever I can, I try to pay some stranger a kindness that can’t be repaid. That night is one I’ll never forget because of that woman’s anonymous gift. After we’d recovered from our shock, the server told us, “she told me to tell you to never worry about how you’re dressed or about spending a little money, and to just enjoy life.” Words to live by.

*For the record, it turned out the roses were a random act of kindness (and not creepiness). A day or two after they found the roses, they found out they were from their neighbor.