For anyone who doesn't know me, I like to make birthdays special. I consider it one of my gifts. I have always enjoyed putting homemade birthday signs all over the house, notes inside vehicles, baking the birthday cake, buying cards, and anything else I can think of to make a person feel special on THEIR birthday.
Last Friday, November 5th, my coworker Heather, was turning 30. She shared with me that she was a little bummed about the big 3 0. I decided to take it upon myself to make her 30th birthday a good one.
I made her a cake, bought her a card, and then purchased two bundles of carnations. There were about 40 carnations in all. What was my plan? I was going to put the carnations in a bucket in the backseat of my car and find 30 people to stop by the office, get a flower from my car and bring it into Heather!
I get to work an hour before her, so I had plenty of time to make my arrangements. I called her husband, her mom and dad, the local police department, the local light and power workers, salesmen that come in on Fridays, all the coworkers, her mechanic that works in Lowell, and anyone else I could think of that would like to be in on the fun.
Five minutes after Heather got here, two men came in with carnations. Then a few minutes later, two more men came in. She said "How do they know it is my birthday?" I just smiled. By the time the UPS man came in with a carnation, Heather was onto me.
The mailman, who seems quiet by nature, walked in belting out "Happy Birthday" at the top of his lungs! One of the guys that works here handed her a carnation and said "We are playing bachelor today. At the end of the day you must pick your favorite." Oh, so many smiles...
By 1:00, twenty men had been in and given her carnations! It was SO fun! Can you believe it? Twenty men walking in and handing her a carnation. Now, that is FUN! All of the men know Heather and they were so happy to be in on it. The Chief of Police even came in! At about 2:00 her husband drove out from Grand Rapids to surprise her and at 3:00 her mom and four of her siblings had driven to Lowell from Sparta to also surprise her. Heather's dad also stopped by on his way back from Battle Creek. Even her stepdaughter that I facebook messaged came by with two of her friends.
At the end of the day, 39 people had been in to give Heather a birthday flower. Needless to say, Heather was having a HAPPY birthday! It was a success! Heather's birthday went from the dreaded birthday, to a very happy, memorable birthday.
Making other people feel special makes the soul feel good (at least it does for me).
Monday, November 8, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Buying some Mums
While driving north of town, on a beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon, I saw a lawn full of pumpkins and cornstalks that were for sale. I decided it was time to decorate our house and our Main Street Inn.
When I pulled into the driveway, the yard was full of people. There were people taking pictures of kids and pumpkins, babies and pumpkins, teens and pumpkins, etc. So, you get the picture. Only one small problem. There didn't seem to be a person selling the pumpkins. So, after about 10 minutes, people all started looking around and saying things like "Do you work here?" "Should we just put money in that bucket?"
At last, a young man came out from the house and he looked so surprised. He couldn't believe all the people standing around. He helped a couple of the families and I could see that he was going to be busy for awhile and so I told him I would be back with a truck to haul my stuff home.
When I got back fifteen minutes later, the rush was over. He and I were laughing about the crowd that he did not expect to see when he came out from eating his lunch. He helped me carry four pumpkins, and a corn stalk bunch. This should have added up to $16.50, so I gave him a $20.
We got everything loaded into the truck and I got my change from him. As I was climbing into the truck, I noticed he gave me $15 back. Oh no......what to do....... drive away.....or get back out of the truck and be honest and tell him about his mistake. Well, I went with the honesty. I got out of the truck, walked across the lawn and said "I think you gave me too much change. I gave you a $20 bill." He smiled at me and said "No I didn't. Have a great day!"
Isn't that so cool? I drove out of his driveway with a BIG smile on my face and felt good! As I headed home, I spotted another yard with beautiful Mums for sale. So, I stopped. The Mums were three for $10 and since I had money left over, I bought three. The Mums were beautiful! I brought one home, one to the Inn and then I decided to give the last pot of Mums to my Mum. She loved them!!!
I am sure that young man that gave me such a deal on my decorations had no idea that it would enable me to stop and buy those gorgeous flowers. But, for some reason, he decided to make my day a little bit brighter. And that he did!
So, when was the last time you made someone's day a little bit brighter?
When I pulled into the driveway, the yard was full of people. There were people taking pictures of kids and pumpkins, babies and pumpkins, teens and pumpkins, etc. So, you get the picture. Only one small problem. There didn't seem to be a person selling the pumpkins. So, after about 10 minutes, people all started looking around and saying things like "Do you work here?" "Should we just put money in that bucket?"
At last, a young man came out from the house and he looked so surprised. He couldn't believe all the people standing around. He helped a couple of the families and I could see that he was going to be busy for awhile and so I told him I would be back with a truck to haul my stuff home.
When I got back fifteen minutes later, the rush was over. He and I were laughing about the crowd that he did not expect to see when he came out from eating his lunch. He helped me carry four pumpkins, and a corn stalk bunch. This should have added up to $16.50, so I gave him a $20.
We got everything loaded into the truck and I got my change from him. As I was climbing into the truck, I noticed he gave me $15 back. Oh no......what to do....... drive away.....or get back out of the truck and be honest and tell him about his mistake. Well, I went with the honesty. I got out of the truck, walked across the lawn and said "I think you gave me too much change. I gave you a $20 bill." He smiled at me and said "No I didn't. Have a great day!"
Isn't that so cool? I drove out of his driveway with a BIG smile on my face and felt good! As I headed home, I spotted another yard with beautiful Mums for sale. So, I stopped. The Mums were three for $10 and since I had money left over, I bought three. The Mums were beautiful! I brought one home, one to the Inn and then I decided to give the last pot of Mums to my Mum. She loved them!!!
I am sure that young man that gave me such a deal on my decorations had no idea that it would enable me to stop and buy those gorgeous flowers. But, for some reason, he decided to make my day a little bit brighter. And that he did!
So, when was the last time you made someone's day a little bit brighter?
Thursday, September 30, 2010
My mum.
My mom is one of the most thoughtful women I have ever met. She is an inspiration to many, and I just thought it was about time she had a blog so she could share her thoughtfulness with the world!
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