After a quick trip through the grocery store for a few items, I did the customary scan for the shortest checkout line. I wound up behind a pregnant mom and her toddler. The toddler was making a concerted effort to get the shopper’s attention at the head of line, who was in the process of writing a check. I began to interact with the boy, never noticing his mom’s frantic search through her backpack. The toddler’s actions were such that it looked as though he was wanting to grab the check in order to pay the bill. So I made the comment: “Hey, Mom, he wants to ‘pick up the tab.'” She offhandedly responded: “he may have to!” Then she looked up at me and embarrassingly confessed about having to go to the car for her wallet. She only had a handful of items so I said I’d buy them for her. She had the most heartfelt reaction and her face said it all. Naturally, she initially resisted then asked for my name and number so she could repay me. She even reached to remove a few greeting cards from her items to lessen the tab but I rebuffed her, commenting she’d only have to return for them before the upcoming holiday. Then she began to cry, noting that she was very emotional not only due to her pregnancy but because this was the first Mother’s Day without her mom. “Well this is my Mother’s Day gift to you”, I said, “in the future, when an opportunity presents itself, ‘pass it on!'”
The gift of giving is as beneficial to the giver as it is to the receiver. It was an early and unexpected gift to myself!