HOLIDAY SPIRIT
My daughter and I got to witness something pretty special today.
This morning before I took her to dancing school, we made our usual pit-stop at Starbucks so that I could get some caffeine in my system. (Yes, I know, one of these days I really need to change the name of this blog, but I digress....) We were the third party in line.
The first people, currently ordering, were a group of about 3 or 4 women, probably a group of girlfriends out for morning coffee or on their way to or from the gym. Next in line, in front of us, was a woman with a little girl approximately Amanda's age, and a gentleman dressed in full army fatigues. Head to toe. As we stood in line behind them, it became evident from their conversation that they had JUST picked him up from whatever tour of duty he had been serving, and that he hadn't even been home yet - stopping for coffee en route. Hard to tell if he was the husband / dad or possibly brother / uncle, but regardless he unavoidably drew attention to himself simply because of how he was dressed.
The ladies at the counter finished placing their order, turned around, and told the woman, child, and soldier to order anything they wanted - on them. For a moment or two there was a bit of "no, you don't have to do that, really, it isn't necessary," but finally they agreed and the gentleman gave the women a heartfelt "Thank you." And to him, they all replied emphatically "NO.....thank YOU. Merry Christmas."
Everyone was left with giant smiles on their faces, and it was a wonderful thing for Amanda to get to see. After I explained to her (as best as I could) what had just happened, I took it as an opportunity to say "THAT is what Christmas is all about, Amanda, doing nice things for people who have done nice things for you."
The best part is, I think she understood.
This morning before I took her to dancing school, we made our usual pit-stop at Starbucks so that I could get some caffeine in my system. (Yes, I know, one of these days I really need to change the name of this blog, but I digress....) We were the third party in line.
The first people, currently ordering, were a group of about 3 or 4 women, probably a group of girlfriends out for morning coffee or on their way to or from the gym. Next in line, in front of us, was a woman with a little girl approximately Amanda's age, and a gentleman dressed in full army fatigues. Head to toe. As we stood in line behind them, it became evident from their conversation that they had JUST picked him up from whatever tour of duty he had been serving, and that he hadn't even been home yet - stopping for coffee en route. Hard to tell if he was the husband / dad or possibly brother / uncle, but regardless he unavoidably drew attention to himself simply because of how he was dressed.
The ladies at the counter finished placing their order, turned around, and told the woman, child, and soldier to order anything they wanted - on them. For a moment or two there was a bit of "no, you don't have to do that, really, it isn't necessary," but finally they agreed and the gentleman gave the women a heartfelt "Thank you." And to him, they all replied emphatically "NO.....thank YOU. Merry Christmas."
Everyone was left with giant smiles on their faces, and it was a wonderful thing for Amanda to get to see. After I explained to her (as best as I could) what had just happened, I took it as an opportunity to say "THAT is what Christmas is all about, Amanda, doing nice things for people who have done nice things for you."
The best part is, I think she understood.
