I am thankful for a quarter. Yesterday, a small and beautiful thing happened at the grocery store as I approached the cart corral with my quarter in hand (at Aldi's you need a quarter for a cart, then get it back when you return it). A man returning his cart reached the corral at the same time and said, "It's your lucky day"! I smiled at him and offered my quarter. (This is common Aldi etiquette).He waved me off and said "It's all yours". What a simple random act of kindness!
I thought about that man the whole time I was shopping, and knew I wanted to pay it forward. So, as I was returning my cart at the end of my trip, I gently shoved my cart towards a man getting ready to put his quarter in. "Here you go!" I said. He, in turn, held out a quarter to me. I said, "No thanks!" and walked to my car.
Next to my car yet another gentleman was getting ready to enter the store. He had witnessed my little cart exchange and commented that I had done my good deed for the day. I explained the kindness that had been done for me, and that I was simply passing on the small gesture. "It's the little things, right?" I asked. He grinned broadly and replied, "Miss, you are so right about that. Now you have a great day." And I did!
