ring the car wouldn’t make the trip. I told her I had a mechanic friend who owed me a favor, and he would give the car a tune-up for free. I didn’t have a friend who was a mechanic. We were both 18 and had little money, but I used my savings to make her car roadworthy for the trip. She’s a mother of 4, with a great job and thriving in Oregon.
- I work in a drugstore. Even though I am not allowed to do that, I still let people use our toilet. I can’t say no when I see that a person needs it. I happened to be in a similar situation once myself. It was snowing heavily, and it took me a few hours to get home. The city was jammed. And then I suddenly realized that I needed to go to the toilet urgently. I was in an unfamiliar area, and I had to ask a lady in a hair salon to let me use their toilet. She did, and I’m still thankful to her.
- Before your cell phone kept track of birthdays, I used to remind my husband’s friends and family about his birthday so he’d get a lot of birthday greetings. It made him happy that everyone remembered his birthday.
- I work from home every day. My fiancée does not. She’s on her feet all day long. We live on one of the top floors of our building, and the elevator can sometimes take an annoyingly long time. When I see her location close on the map, I send it down so she doesn’t have to wait. She thinks she’s lucky every time.
- My brother was unemployed and depressed. He needed to apply for jobs but couldn’t make himself do it. Whenever I tried to talk to him about it, he shut me down. I set up a Yahoo account called something like XyZjobs dot com. The name was of a company where I knew he wanted to work. I pretended that I was from that employer and sent him a link from the real employer, encouraging him to click to apply for a job. He did and was hired. That was 23 years ago, and he’s still there. He never caught on.
- While serving, one of my co-workers was a lovely girl in desperate need of money. One night, she stayed way past her cut time to take care of a party of 15 people. It was my close, and I didn’t mind getting an early jump on side work, so I told her to have at it. She was there 2 hours later than needed, and they stiffed her. Didn’t tip a penny. She cried while she packed up her stuff. I took $30 out of my tips and asked a busboy to pretend he had found it under the table while cleaning and to hand it to her before she left. She got a huge smile and ran over to tell me she was wrong and they had left a great tip! She was so relieved. I know it wasn’t much money, but it makes me happy. I swore the busboy to secrecy and never told anyone.
- I convinced my sister I had entered us both in a blog giveaway. I won a coupon, but she won the grand prize, a $300 gift card to Lane Bryant. My sister was a size 16 and desperately needed new clothes but would spend money on her baby grandkids and thin adult daughters. This was the only way I could ensure she spent it on herself. It’s been 10 years. She doesn’t know.
- When my brother was 4, he won a stuffed animal from a claw machine, and it was his favorite thing ever, he slept with it every night for weeks. Once, he fell asleep on the couch and was carried to bed, but left his stuffed animal on the floor, and the dog decided to tear it to pieces during the night. I spent $40 trying to win another one and put it under his bed for him to find.
- When my daughter, now 24, was born, someone gave her a pink and white striped bunny called Sleepyhead. When my ex-wife and I separated, I bought her a second one. Over time, they would fall apart, and we kept buying replacements (probably 6-7). They no longer make them; the two she has have more holes than the bunny. We sent one of them for her birthday to a woman who restores stuffed animals. It cost $120. The bunny was probably $30. When we gave it to her, she cried.
- My wife lost one of her favorite gold earrings her parents gave her. She could not find the other after weeks of trying. It had sentimental value as it was a 16th birthday gift, so I knew she’d never want another set. So, I took the one she had around our big city to jewelers and shops until I found a matching one. Eventually, I found and bought the pair. Dirtied it at home and let her “find it” in her sock drawer. I still have the other hidden on my desk in case she loses the other.
- As a previous nanny, I’ve seen many first steps and heard many first words, but I never shared that. When I leave, I say something like, I think the little one is so close to walking/talking! It’s a special moment parents deserve, who am I to take that from them? One baby was walking with me for a full 2 weeks before he showed his new trick to his parents.
- We did that at the daycare I worked at. I remember specifically one time this kid had been walking all day. His mom came in to pick him up, and my grandmother, who ran the place, sat him down fast so she wouldn’t see. When his mom rounded the corner, he stood up and walked to her; the look on her face was priceless. She was so excited.
There are quite a lot of people who do good literally every day. And it’s a pleasure to read about them.
