shiny goodness.

So I was shopping the other day with Tyson. We were picking up some food items from the grocery store next door and in a whimsy we decided on one item of delicious naughtiness (mac and cheese) and another of crisp, light picture-of-health (halibut). I know, very odd. At any rate, I approached the fresh meat and fish case and usually there is the same, sweet man working who is very, very helpful. This day there was someone new, and without sounding horrible, he didn't speak great English and had some trouble understanding me. No biggiee, we pointed out a small-ish piece of already-seasoned blackened halibut.

After picking up a few other items, we walked past the fish case again on our way to the register. The man who had helped us with the fish waved us down and asked if our fish was for two people. Yes. Yes it is. He reached out his hand asking us for the package of fish back saying he was going to "fix it" as he didn't realize it was for two people. He then opened the package, took out the original piece we asked for and put it back in the case swapping it for a piece twice its size. "Nooo, no, no..the other piece was fine!" I said, knowing it was $19.99/lb. I was perfectly fine with our tiny piece...and of course the box of mac and cheese I was dying to consume from the moment we picked it up off the shelf. The man put the larger piece in the butcher paper, closed it up and put the original price sticker back on it with a wink. "There, that's better for two." And off we went with our new and fancy LARGE piece of fish, for the same price as the teeny one.

I was floored. I felt such delight in his gesture. And I had a tiny revelation in the power of doing little things for people and what an impact something small and easy for me, might truly make the difference for someone else. I mean, it can completely change the trajectory of someone's day!

Then, as if I deserved any more moments of glory, I went to the video store next door and the person working helped me finagle a deal so that I could rent Sex and the City the movie on Tuesday and still keep it to watch on Friday night - even though it was due on Thursday. Glory.

And Finally, a few weeks ago when I was having minor internal meltdowns about my upcoming birthday, where I'm going in life, what do I want to do for a living ...the list goes on and as you can see I was a smidge emotional, I sat in a coffee shop and tried to just relax. I left my seat to ask for a refill when I noticed a small business card-sized piece of paper sitting there. I asked the person closest if it was his. No. The card contained no name or title or contact information, simply the words: "Everything is going to be okay." with an adorable pink, letter-pressed star. Lovely.

I tucked the card into my wallet.

I'll never know who left it there or what the purpose was for the card, but that discovery of six little words of encouragement totally made the difference in my afternoon. A little shiny goodness.