Shhh - Secret Kindness

It is always fun and rewarding to spread kindness, but I was recently asked to help share some SECRET KINDNESS!  That was a first (that I can remember…).

A neighbor contacted me and said that she really wanted to do an act of kindness, but wanted to remain anonymous.  Well, if you know the concept of Kindness Activist, you will know that “being anonymous” isn’t in the (unwritten…) principles!  My philosophy is that you should not hide your “kindness light” under a bushel!  You should LET THAT LIGHT SHINE BRIGHT!  Because your “kindness light” might be seen by others, who then spread that light of kindness even further.

But the person who contacted me had a valid point…  What she wanted to do was give a special gift to a husband and wife that work at one of their favorite restaurants.  The servers were going through a rough patch, and the diners wanted to secretly help them out a bit.  But the neighbor was afraid that if the servers knew who the gift was from, it would be awkward, and they would not be comfortable accepting anything. 

The neighbor asked me if I would consider helping with Kindness Activist funds, and of course I said yes.  As we texted, we decided that Kindness Activist would purchase a gift card, and the diners would purchase another one.  That way the hard-working couple would get DOUBLE KINDNESS!

Only, then another family wanted to support the couple too, so it turned into THREE GIFT CARDS!  When funds from the 3 sources were put together, there was $525!!  That money was split between gift cards for Target and 2 local grocery stores. 

One evening I stopped by the restaurant and asked for the servers.  One of them was working, and they brought her to me.  I explained that I run a project called Kindness Activist, and someone had asked me to surprise her with a gift.  Then I handed her an envelope with the 3 gift cards inside and a Penzy’s Spice KIND button.  She looked a bit confused but had a big smile on her face. 

Shhh - before the delivery of surprise kindness

And then, just like that, I turned and left! 

I bet she was super happy when she opened that envelope.  I wonder if she waited until the end of her shift and took it home to open??   I wonder if she is wearing the KIND pin to work now?

I will never know the answers to those questions.  But it was sure fun being a secret KINDNESS SPREADER!

 

Kindness funds used:  $125

Crepe Kindness

One of the good things about living in the Washington DC area is that there are several bus companies that drive the DC/NYC route, so you can easily score a cheap ride to New York.  When we have a weekend off, we like to do just that, and it’s even better when we have an “excuse” to go.  Recently we were invited to an anniversary party in NYC, so we jumped on a bus.

But not before hunting online for fun things to do while we were there and making a list!  This time the list included Chocolate By The Bald Man - Max Brenner – which looked amazing in online reviews!  Especially since my sweetheart is a huge chocolate fan!

We popped into the restaurant on a Saturday afternoon and were told we would have quite a long wait.  But then we spied 2 seats at the counter, which was 1^st come 1^st served.  And BEST SERVED, it turned out!

Our seats were directly in front of the CREPE MAKER.  This woman’s job was to make crepe after crepe after crepe.  She did not stop!  She had 2 crepe machines, and as soon as she would pour and circle the batter on machine 1, she would do the same on machine 2.  Then flip (repeat on machine 2).  Then take off (repeat on machine 2).  Then start again.  Crepe after crepe after crepe.  And they were all perfect!  I guess she has a lot of practice…  We felt like we had won the seat lottery since we got to watch her work.

The menu had loads of chocolatey goodness to choose from, but of COURSE we picked a crepe!!  We ordered a hazelnut, banana, chocolate crepe, then sat back and waited for it to be OUR TURN with the crepe maker!! 

She knew we were watching her – we exchanged several smiles.  And she knew when she got to OUR CREPE.  For that one she seemed to take EXTRA CARE – specially drying the plate it would be displayed on, drizzling the sauce…  We laughed and pointed and gave her lots of “thumbs up” on the production.  When she was finished, she tried to reach around the counter and hand it to us personally, but was intercepted by the man in charge of organizing all of the food before it went out.  Her eyes seemed to say to him, “But it is THEIRS – it is for my FRIENDS who have been cheering me on!  I want to personally deliver it please…” but he was having none of it.  In fact, as he took it away from us, he said it was for someone else.  I think the crepe lady felt bad, she had put extra care and love into that one, and it turned out it wasn’t even ours!

But wait – the boss man was wrong!!!  IT WAS OURS, and he had to eat a bit of crow as he handed it back to us.  We exchanged big smiles with our crepe friend and dug in.

Our amazing crepe, and in the background, our new friend the crepe maker!!!  

It was delicious!!!  All of the flavors blended perfectly and one crepe (and an amazing hot cocoa) was more than enough for us to share.  We were very happy! 

I wanted to tip the crepe lady.  It was HER who had done all the work, so carefully making crepe after delicate crepe.  She had treated us like special guests, and I wanted to treat her special in return.  So, we took a $10 bill and slipped it through a line in the glass that separated her from us.  I gave her a big smile, pointed to the tip, and pointed to HER, making sure she knew it was for her and her alone.   She gestured back, “ME????” and we nodded YES!!! 

She.  Was.  Thrilled.  It was obvious she was not used to being tipped – she didn’t know what to do!!!  The bill was suspended in the glass between us and her, and she kept eyeballing it and grinning from ear to ear as she cranked out more crepes.  Finally, she turned to the woman who was probably her supervisor and explained (in Spanish) that the tip was there.  The supervisor looked at it, then looked back and said, “FOR YOU????” and our friend giggled and said “Siiii!!”.  The supervisor smile at us, retrieved the money, and gave it to the crepe maker.

A steaming hot "hug mug" of Italian hot cocoa - ahhhhhhhhh.

This tiny gesture of kindness went such a long way.  The smile on the woman’s face would not go away, it was the sweetest thing.  And one by one she pulled co-workers aside, explained in Spanish what had just happened, and showed them the $10 bill in her pocket.   They all looked like they were very happy for her luck.

Sometimes small gestures yield BIG RESULTS.  We couldn’t give money to every homeless person we saw in NYC.  We couldn’t buy meals for everyone there going hungry.  But we could make one dedicated crepe maker feel as special as she is.  We could remind her that her work is appreciated.  And we could make her smile. 

Bonus NYC photo - the Statue of Liberty as seen from Battery Park on a warm(ish) Spring day!