You Reap What You Sow

This is a story about an act of kindness that floored me.  One that was actually jaw dropping to me.

It is not an act of kindness we performed. 

Instead, it is one we received.

We have been working on upgrading our bathroom.  What started as a simple project – replace a wonky faucet – quickly snowballed into much more: getting a new vanity, counter, sink, medicine cabinet, light fixture, painting the walls, replacing an outlet…  Oh, and yeah, a new faucet.  That’s how things always go, isn’t it?  Home repair projects start small, then grow exponentially and drag on forever.

 

Anyway, this work is being done in our beach house.  We escape here when we can to take in the sunshine and sand and recharge.  When we are not here, we rent it to vacationers (which gives us the income to keep it all going).  Because we “share” it with strangers, we need to keep it up and have it look nice.  (I say this to point out that our “real house”, the one we live in the majority of the time, needs MAJOR BATHROOM WORK and has for, well, years!  But have we tackled it?  No, no we have not…)

 

And because it is a second home, we do not have all of the bits and bobs here that we do at our main home.  We have limited storage space here, plus, we just live a “pared down” existence here, which is good for our souls.  The garage is small, and it has to house important things like beach toys and lawn chair cushions and bikes and our teeny tiny Fiat Pop car.  All of that does not leave much room for tools. 

 

At home, we have loads of tools and usually can find whatever we need to get a job done.  But at the beach house, we sometimes knock on neighbors’ doors and ask to borrow this or that.  We used to have a great next-door neighbor here who was thrilled to share his tools with us.  Sadly, he has long since moved away.

 

So, the other day when we realized that to make the new vanity fit, we would need to cut a piece of TILE, we were stumped.  David had brought his Dremel tool on this trip with him for a craft project I plan to do, but he didn’t bring the right blade for it to do something as major as cutting tile.  No neighbors had what was needed.  An Amazon search brought up an expensive Dremel brand single disc, or 6 off-brand cheap discs…  But going that route meant waiting 2 days (overnight delivery is not a thing here like it is at home), and we were trying to get the vanity IN.  So, we did what we do soooo often – we headed to the hardware store (the hardware store is David’s very favorite place to shop)!

 

We found the Dremel section and located what we thought was the right bit, but there are so many pieces to Dremels, and we needed the second piece that would hold the disc on.  We decided we needed assistance so hunted down an employee.

 

The employee was so nice!  When asked what Dremel bit was good for our project, he said, “Oh, I don’t ever use Dremels…  I use a GRINDER!  And look – I still have all 10 fingers!” he said as he smiled and showed us both hands.

 

“Ah yes!” David said jokingly.  “Wanna loan it to us?”

 

“Sure!  For a 6 pack of beer!” the employee joked back and we all laughed.

 

I remembered a tool I had given David for Christmas a few years ago and asked if THAT would work in this situation.  It turns out that yes, if we had that here at this house, that would be a good tool for this job.

 

“Well, since the Dremel pieces are going to be so expensive anyway, maybe we should invest in one of those tools for this place??” I said.

 

And that is when the 3 of us started the hunt for a Dewalt Multi-Tool.

 

Now people, if you have never strolled the tool aisles of a large hardware store, you do not know this.  But there are a surprisingly overwhelming number of electric tools…  There seem to be specialized tools for each and every job.  And not only that, but each BRAND makes at least 1 or 2 versions of each type of tool.  And the batteries from brand A do not work with brand B, so if you have brand A batteries for something else and want to share them with your new toy, you want to buy brand A again.  This makes it very confusing, and very hard to find the exact make and model you are in need of.

 

Anyway, the employee was really dedicated to helping us find what we needed.  He looked it up on his computer and took us to where it was.  Or I should say, where it was supposed to be.  Only, it wasn’t there.

 

We hunted up aisles.  We hunted down aisles.  We looked on end-caps.  We looked on special tables.  But that one specific tool was no where to be found. 

 

He was a bit embarrassed I think, and felt he was wasting our time.  Plus, he probably kind of felt that he had “failed” us (though it was no fault of his, and it was not for lack of trying!).  Eventually, he said, “Ya know…  I think I have my grinder in my truck.  Do you wanna just borrow it??”.

 

And this time, he was not joking.

 

He was serious!

 

“Uh – YES PLEASE!” was our enthusiastic reply.

 

“Wait here, I will be back…” he instructed.

 

As we waited, he popped out to his truck and set the grinder outside of his toolbox to make it easy to find.  He came back and told David the make and model of his truck and where it was parked.  “Just use mine,” he said.  “But wear eye protection and gloves!!” he added.

 

I was shocked.

 

A complete stranger was going to loan us an expensive tool, no questions asked.  He didn’t even ask for our NAMES or PHONE NUMBER!!

 

We got his name, and figured out a plan to return the tool when we were done with it.  I asked for his number before we left so that we could contact him and tell him when we were bringing it back.  We checked out with our other items, and off we went to hunt down his truck.

 

It was just so TRUSTWORTHY of him!  I mean, when we opened his big, beautiful, new truck (which he had left unlocked so we could get in!!), there were lots of tools in there.  We could have easily cleaned them out, loaded them into our car, and took off.  He didn’t know us from Adam.  But he trusted us, and he was kind.

 

We took the grinder, replaced it with a $20 bill, and headed home. 

 

The next day, David used the borrowed tool and successfully cut the tile.  The vanity fit right into place and it looks beautiful.  I sent the kind guy a few texts with photos so he could see the project that he had helped us with. 

 

Eye protection, gloves, and a fancy grinder tool!

David is getting ready to take the tool back to him today, along with some fresh peaches from our tree.  We will look for him, I am sure, each time we shop at that store. 

 

I won’t forget this act of kindness. 

 

It meant so much more than saving us a few bucks. 

 

It reminded me that there are good people in the world.  People who trust others, who believe in strangers. 

 

People who are KIND.

 

Now that I tell it, it sounds like such a simple story.  I mean, why did it surprise me so much?  And honestly, when I think about it in reverse, it is very much something I would do…  When you see someone who needs something and that thing is something you have, why not share it??

 

But most people don’t roll that way.  Most people can’t put down their guard.  Maybe they have been burned before, or maybe they were taught to not talk to strangers.  Or maybe they see the world in a more practical light and think doing something like this is ridiculous or risky.

 

When I recounted this story to a friend, she said, “Kindness begets kindness.  You reap what you sow, Susan”.

 

What a sweet reminder. 

 

That amazed feeling I got, that jaw dropping sensation when I reviewed in my mind what had just happened, I have been honored to provide that same feeling to many, many people via acts of kindness.  I bet after we pay for a stranger’s Christmas tree, or put quarters in people’s laundromat washing machines, or pick up the tab on someone’s groceries, or buy a gift off a stranger’s online wedding registry…  I bet those people feel the same way I felt when the employee said, “I think I have my grinder in my truck.  Want to just borrow it??”.

 

It was fun being on the receiving end of a big act of kindness. 

 

Thanks, new friend.  Your generosity, trust, and kindness meant more than you know.