Random acts of kindness

Thanks to a gesture from a kind gentleman at Dee Dee’s Sunday, my son woke up with a new favorite stuffed animal. You know, one of those toys that is really hard to describe, kind of like a horse with tiger stripes and an orange mane. But that’s not what’s important.

My mother and I were enjoying a leisurely meal at the Cherokee Lane restaurant that was moving a bit too slow for my almost-3-year-old. When the man in the next booth noticed our plight (and probably witnessed my son sitting on the floor under the table), he sent his wife to the front of the restaurant to retrieve this silly stuffed animal.

Apparently, the gentleman plays that claw game near the register where for just 50 cents you try your luck at retrieving a prize and every time he snags a toy, he saves it for times like these. We encouraged Sam to say “thank you” several times, which he did (to the man, his wife, the lady in the next booth, the waitress, you get the point).

In the end, I hope I am teaching my son to not only be thankful, but to learn that random acts of kindess to strangers can make everyone feel good.