A Christmas Story

No, this story doesn't end with someone shooting their eye out.  And, in fact, it takes place the day after Christmas.  But it's a good story anyway, especially since it's true.  *smile*

Tree

Our Christmas was pretty quiet, with a few presents opened while on speakerphone with my parents in front of our tree.  The rest of the day was spent admiring our gifts, playing Lego Indiana Jones, and pretty much staying inside, since Diezel's left front paw had been bothering him.  He started with an occasional limp a few months ago, which progressed to a loss of his range of movement.  The vet said it might be a soft-tissue injury, or early-onset arthritis.  Then about a week before Christmas he'd come in from outside with a bad limp, a bloody inside toenail, and a swollen toe.  We couldn't touch the foot for a few days, but it had started to look better.  Christmas day it was swollen worse than ever and very tender, so we decided to take him in to the vet the next day.

While T and Diezel went to the vet, Cara and I headed for the park.  We had a good walk, despite needing to have a few "conversations" that ended with Cara on her back while I disciplined her for not coming when called.  When we were done, Cara and I drove to meet T for lunch.  The vet thought the toe was broken, and wanted to take an x-ray, which required anesthesia and for Diezel to be in the office all afternoon.  So we killed time in town, finally taking Cara to the other dog park so she could get out of the car.  Eventually Diezel was released -- nearly $1000 later -- with a diagnosis of either an infection, arthritis, or possibly a tick-borne disease.  They gave us an NSAID for arthritis and an antibiotic while they waited for some test results, and sent us home with a very groggy shepherd.

While T took the dogs home, I remembered a few errands I needed to do, so I took off in my car and told T I'd see him at the house.  On the way, I spotted my bank and remembered that I still hadn't deposited my Christmas bonus check from work, which would help a lot towards paying those vet bills.  I pulled up to the bank and reached into my pocket, but no check.  I looked through my purse and car, but it was nowhere to be found.  I figured I must have taken it out of my pocket and was hoping it was at home, so I headed to the store to grab a few things.

As soon as I walked into the store, T called.  There was a message on our home answering machine from a woman who claimed to have my check!  He gave me the number, and I called her immediately.  She sounded very nice, said that she and her granddaughter had found it at the dog park earlier that day -- I am assuming it fell out during a disciplinary session with Cara.  She said that she usually didn't bother to look at or pick up things like that, but her granddaughter had insisted that it looked newly-dropped, so she'd picked it up.  I thanked her profusely, and we agreed to meet in the parking lot of a grocery store in Magalia, the next town over from mine where she lived.  I bought the few things I needed and jumped into my car.

On the way, two things occurred to me.  First, that I should have gotten something as a reward/thank-you while I was still at the store, and second, that I should tell T where I was going.  I called him, gave him the details, and he also said that I should bring her something nice.  Since I was meeting her at a grocery store, I decided to pick up a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine when I got there, since they seemed like almost-universal gifts.

However, when I got to the store, I saw several miniature potted rose bushes in the front window. 

I had worried that an older woman might not eat chocolate or drink wine, especially since I'm not a wine drinker, and the roses seemed like a perfect thank-you gift.  They were also something that she could share with her granddaughter as a lesson in the rewards of being kind to strangers, if that was a lesson her granddaughter needed reaffirmed.

I found the woman I'd spoken to when I got back out to my car.  We introduced ourselves, and I gave her the roses.  She kept saying that I didn't need to, but I assured her several times that I wanted to do something to say thanks.  She told me her story again, and I said that I'd been carrying the check in my pocket for a few days and it must have slipped out at the park.  She said she'd done the same thing with $25 in cash a short while ago, and her husband had given her a hard time about it.  I thanked her several times for calling, and told her karma was definitely on her side today.  Finally, she told me that she absolutely loves roses, and I said I was really glad that I had chosen them for her.  She gave me a hug and we each went our separate ways.

I'd like to think that it was my own karma that got my check back to me, if not guardian angels of one sort or another.  I've tried to be kind to strangers over the years -- handing people things they've dropped, turning in a wad of cash I found while staying at a hostel, buying scones for a dog park acquaintance who was spending a Thanksgiving alone, smiling at and encouraging a young boy on a plane to look out the window while his guardian sweated and prayed and sang hymns, white-knuckled, in her seat.  I even encouraged my boss to stop and help a woman and her young son on the side of the road, who needed a jump-start for their truck. 

But I think that I have been benefitted by the kindness of strangers far more often than I have helped them.  I left my purse on a subway car in London when I was 15 with my passport, cash, and all my Travellers Checks inside, and got the entire purse back, untouched, within a few hours.  More than once I have had strangers buy me a sandwich or a lunch box on a plane because my wallet was in the overhead compartment or I didn't have correct change; I have managed to pay that forward once so far, and hope I can do it again.  I once had a man buy me a Coke at a gas station when I'd been driving 12 hours and the woman behind the counter wouldn't let me charge a few dollars to my debit card; he found me in the parking lot to give it to me, and apologized for the owner's rudeness.  What I think this shows me is that there are a lot of good people in this world who are willing to help a stranger in need, and it encourages me to keep trying to be one of them.  And it makes a great Christmas story, even if it was a day late.  *grin*