$3.83

Some of our consignment sale loot

The consignment sale of all consignment sales was last weekend. We’re talking two church gymnasiums full of everything you can imagine that might possibly pertain to someone under the age of 12. Yeah. It’s big, and this was the first time I actually consigned anything. I earned almost as much as I spent, which was pretty fabulous.

I bought a lot. I usually focus on getting “staple” items for Leah at those sales. They hold them every 6 months, so I focus on getting the essential items for the next couple of seasons. I was very proud of myself; I went in with a mental list of the clothing items I wanted to hunt and left with, basically, those things alone. I didn’t even peek at the toys or books or videos or anything. Clothes and shoes. Shoes and clothes. I did well.

When Leah and I left the sale, we were famished. Because it would have been close to an hour before we got home and I was hoping that Leah would begin her nap in the car, I decided it would be best to stop into McDonalds. Despite how well I had done at the sale, though, I was mentally beating myself up. We’re living on a very definite budget, and I felt guilty for stopping for lunch when I knew there was food at home. Regardless, we had to eat, and soon, so we stopped.

In the drive thru, I ordered our food and pulled up. The lady in front of us seemed to be taking longer than normal, so I entertained Leah by popping up and around the back of my seat until it was our turn. Once we got to window, I – cash in hand – leaned out to pay.

“Did you have the double cheeseburger?” the cashier asked.

“Sure did!”

“Okay,” she said with a smile. “The lady in front of you paid for it. Said to tell you lunch was on her today.” Apparently there had been some mix-up in the sequencing of the orders, and they told her my total originally…which she paid…and then they corrected it and told her her own total. Rather than have them right the wrong, she handed over more money and received only half of the food for which she had paid.

I was speechless, and literally fought back tears as I placed my money back in my wallet. As the woman in the Xterra drove off, I waved my arm out the window, but I don’t think she saw me. There was nothing I could do to express my gratitude. All I could do was accept it. (A few minutes later, I wished I had had the presence of mind to offer to pay for the car behind me in line…but then thought that probably wouldn’t have been a good idea. With my luck, that one would have been a 15-passenger van full of preschoolers waiting on their Happy Meals. That, I assure you, I would not have been able to afford.)

I’ve been thinking about this since Friday. I doubt very seriously that the woman thought that morning, “I’m going to bless someone today. I’m going to do something extraordinary. I’m going to be unnecessarily generous and make someone’s day.” I don’t know – maybe she did. It’s entirely possible. Either way, though, I want to be more like her. I want to have the presence of mind to do something unexpected and brighten someone’s day. I want to seek out ways to help others. I want to have eyes to see the needs in front of me…and even to see the needs that aren't right in front of (or behind) me. I want to be more like that.

Leah, thoroughly enjoying some free french fries