Recently, I took Ethan and Sean to an event that I thought they would both like. And they did. Mostly. Then Ethan decided that he needed a Philly Pretzel and then Sean followed suit and then I realized that yet again, I was ‘under-cashed’ for such an event. Dennis gives me grief for not carrying what he deems ‘appropriate amounts of cash’ – which is NOT the $3-6 I often have.
I was attempting to convince both of them that they didn’t need pretzels, but they were admantly arguing the point when a man behind me tapped me on the shoulder and attempted to hand me a five dollar bill.
‘Let me get it’, he said.
We have been the recipients of kindesses like this in public before. On occassion we have reached a cash register to find out that someone has paid our bill, or Ethan has been handed a cool piece of sports memorobilia at an event. Recently it happened twice in the same night – kind of restores your faith in the human race, doesn’t it?
Although we always recognize these acts for what they are – random acts of kindness, it is sometimes hard to be a gracious recipient. I felt terribly uncomforable that because I couldn’t remember to stop and get cash, someone else felt the need to provide it to my demanding child.
I sometimes wonder what a person might be thinking when they offer such a gift. I wonder if they think money is tight for us, or they remember a time they were in a similar situation and just caught off guard.
This time I didn’t wonder. I looked at the gentlemen’s shirt and then to the stroller he was pushing. I gratefully said, “Thank you so much. You’ve just made this much easier for me.”
He said, “You’re welcome and I’m glad.”
His shirt said ‘Proud Parent of a Child with DS’ and his towheaded little daughter lay peacefully (unlike mine) in the stoller napping with the beautiful, little features of Down syndrome. You do know I think babies with DS are cuter than their typical counterparts, right?