Gratification Acquiescence

I had a great full-circle moment with my son today. It's actually been an ongoing lesson for him with me but today it just hit me, he is really paying attention.

I live my life by doing things with people's best interest at heart. No, I am not a saint; however, I truly love to doing for others what feels good in my heart, mostly by my own standards and with no one watching. I will not talk about what events I have or have not done or where I have been in my life, simply because that undermines the theory that you do nice things for the sake of doing from your heart and not for the acknowledgment. However, this situation...it just came 'round and wrapped itself up nicely in a neat bow, packaged with a little sparkle for the added touch.

A few days ago, we were driving through Mickey-D's and a truck with two people in it pulled up at the very same time I did, almost as if racing to beat me to the punch. Now realize, we had to be on the road within 15 minutes in order to make it to our next destination, so you can imagine I was pretty determined to get in and get out of that fast food line! We got toe-to-toe, or bumper-to-bumper as the case was, and we both grinned three miles wide. He lifted his hand up and gestured as if to say, "please, go ahead...” and I, of course, took him up on his offer. He watched through his window as we proceeded to fashion a two-family meal plan, leaving nothing out but the cherry on the top to finish the meal. We took a little longer than the two people behind us probably would have taken for their meal, we gathered by the looks on their faces. We even joked that they were probably sorry they let us go first.

Just as we were about to pull up to pick up our food, I could see the people behind us joking around and looking up at us.  As we paid for our meals, the girl at the window chitchatted with us and asked if we were all through. I asked the cashier to do me a favor. Yes, much like the dry-cleaning commercial where the girl pays for the guy's shirts to be cleaned, we did the same for the folks behind us in thanks for letting us go first and being patient with our long order. Without a glance back, we went on our way.

My son started to make a comment about our actions to his aunt, and we both responded in kind: You do not need to mention to others when you do something nice for someone else, you just enjoy the moment and move on to the next one. It was just a nice thing to do. He smiled and let it go. I had hopes, but never did it cross my mind he would think about it again.

Fast forward a few weeks and we were ordering food at a favorite local eatery. Two of my brothers and their families were there, along with my mom, as we nestled up to the counter to order. We were last to put together our meal plan. I ordered but left out my oldest son's meal, as he was out of sight playing video games nearby. When he ran up to tell me his request, the girl smiled and added it without incident. Just as I am ready to get going, I remember, shoot, I really wanted to order fries to share with the kids. As I stepped back in line, the girl was closing out her register. She said it was no problem and started to put the money back in the drawer. I said, “No! It’s ok, really, thanks..” not wanting to prolong her shift. She smiled and seemed to appreciate the gesture as she continued counting out her drawer. 

My son helped me pick up our order when he realized we forgot to order him a drink. I requested another one and she gave it to us on the house, no problem. In a sort of half grin, my son smirked but did not say a word. Our order came and we happily enjoyed the meal and the company. Just then, the first girl came over and brought us a steaming hot order of fries. She laid them on the table and said, “You’re the one that wanted the fries right?” I nodded and she said, clapping her hands together as if to signify she was all done with us,“It’s on the house.”

Just then, I looked over to my son and he had the biggest grin on his face. “Mom, did you see that?” He whispered. “What is that saying mom, ‘You do something nice for someone and it comes back around...’ it always comes back around, right mom? Remember mom, remember last time and those people...you did something and now, without even thinking about it, you got something in return. That was cool mom, thanks for that.” I did not see that smile leave his face for the rest of the night. When we were leaving, he put his arms around me and gave me the best hug ever. Somewhere behind those playful eyes, he just simply got the perfection of the moment and savored it as we went on in the night, without speaking a word about it again.

Now listen, I should leave on the table the theory, I don't always do right by everyone; I am, simply put, more aware of my actions when I am doing good, then when I am missing the mark. But alas, such is the plight of mankind...to learn to be aware of the moments when I am not being my genuine self or thinking of the highest good for every time and person, not just the times that feel good or the people who treat me nicely. Nevertheless, I will leave that story for another post.‘Till then, this is just another memorable night to add to my long, long bank of beautiful moments...and boy do I ever feel God’s blessing in each of those many memories.