The goodness of people

I know this should be a love Thursday post, but the day got away from me. On Wednesday, I received affirmation that people are essentially good and kind and nice.

A woman who works at a title agency that B uses for his work called him on Tuesday to see how he was doing. She had heard about his multiple neck procedures and wanted to check in. After she had chatted with B for a few minutes, she asked how I was doing. She told B that one of her daughters has four young children and that she has seen first-hand how chaotic having that many kids in the house can be. Then, and this is the part that gets me, she offered to bring us dinner to help ME out.

B accepted her offer, which I would have never done. I would have said something like, "Oh, we've got plenty of food in the house. We're just fine. Thank you for your offer." Because the only thing I'm worse at than accepting help when it's offered is asking for help when I need it.

Wednesday afternoon the woman showed up with enough food to feed a small army. There was a pot roast that was so good B almost cried, steamed carrots, green beans, mashed potatoes, rolls and an apple crumble. Plus she brought two bags of kid-friendly snack foods like yogurt and cereal bars and, to my kids' delight, pop-tarts.

She said she had cooked up a huge batch of everything and split it between our family and her daughter's.

I was, and still am, blown away by this woman's thoughtfulness and generosity. I have never met this woman - ever, and B's only contact with her is the occasional work-related meeting, and yet she made and delivered this huge meal because she'd heard we were having a rough time.

Now I'm determined to pay it forward. When I hear of someone having a rough patch, I'll do something unexpected and helpful. I'm not sure it will involve cooking a meal, because I'm not a good cook (really, I'm not), but I will find some way to help.