Random Act of Kindness

It was a particularly chaotic day. I needed to grocery shop and had to take the boys with me, which is unusual as I usually get the shopping done on Thursdays while Jack is at school and Graham is at Mother's Day Out. Jack tends to do well at the grocery store, but Graham does not. He is not content to sit in a cart and sing songs as Jack would at this age. He wants down and he wants down now. I can't remember why I needed to shop that day but I also was determined to use coupons which made the trip even more time consuming and stressful. We finally made it to the check out line and both boys were restless and Graham was cranky. There was one person in front of us in line and he was a sweet looking older gentleman. He noticed a bear sitting in the "impulse buy" section. He pushed the button and the bear began to sing the song, "You raise me up." Both boys immediately stopped fidgeting and whining and stared at the bear. After the song was over the man pushed the button again and they sat there mesmerized once again. I laughed and said thank you so much for being so sweet to entertain my boys! The lady finished ringing up the groceries and I heard the man ask her how much the bear cost. She replied, "25 dollars." He said, "Go ahead and ring it up." So he bought the bear and before he left he turned to the boys, handed it to them, and said, "Drive your mom crazy listening to this song!" Wow. I just thought that was so amazing. $25 is a ridiculous amount to pay for a singing bear to begin with, and he did it just to bring joy to two little boys he had never met and would never see again. I was speechless!

Anyway, Graham took those words to heart and drives us crazy listening to that bear sing all the time! He knows all the words to that song and I will always remember the generosity of that sweet man!