The Best Christmas Gift.

Christmas this year was very low key, and very enjoyable! Christmas eve we went to the park to play flag football with some people in our ward. Ellie had a ton of fun playing on the slide and chasing geese, even though it was super cold.






The picture below is one of many to be filed under Ellie's "I don't have time for pictures, I'm too busy exploring" pile.




Christmas Eve night we went to dinner with some of Paul's co-workers/friends at a local steakhouse, then came home and opened Christmas jammies, Christmas story, eggnog, etc...

I didn't remember to take many pictures Christmas morning, but here are a few.








A few weeks ago, I had several unpleasant encounters with strangers that left a bad taste in my mouth. On four separate occasions I was left feeling hurt, sad, and confused as to how people could act so mean. I chalked it up to holiday stress and tried to put it in the back of my brain to be forgotten.

... And then today, my own Christmas miracle happened.

This morning I made the journey over the Carson City Costco with Ellie to stock up on food for company we are having this week. I started feeling really sick in the store, but decided we had come too far to go home now. We got everything on our list and made our way to the loooong checkout lines.
Ellie started getting fidgety and I could tell a melt down was close at hand. Finally, we started checking out and I handed the cashier the credit card Paul had asked me to use. He quickly informed me Costco doesn't accept anything other than American Express.
---Meanwhile, Ellie starts crying----
Okay, not a problem, I opened my wallet to grab my debit card. I looked, and looked... and it is GONE. I'm thinking "okay this IS a problem, but I have to take care of the crisis at hand first".
I told the cashier my debit card was missing and started digging for ANY mode of payment. I found the debit card for the back account we use for the car loan.

---People behind me in line are starting to glare---

I quickly pulled it out, swiped it... only to realize I don't have the pin number memorized (because I NEVER use it)!

---Ellie is now in FULL tantrum mode---

Searching through my wallet I found some Christmas cash, although I knew it wouldn't cover the full amount. At this point, the people behind me in line were rolling their eyes. I turned around to say I was sorry for holding up the line. I handed the money to the cashier and asked him if he would please count it for me while I decided which items to put back. I was about ready to start crying or puking (I would deal with whichever came first).

And then out of the corner of my eye I saw the cashier reach into his pocket. A few seconds later he handed me my receipt and said "Merry Christmas". I was so confused, I didn't know what to say because ALL my items were still in my cart and the total had not changed. Right at that moment, his replacement cashier showed up and he smiled and hurried off towards the break room.

I quickly realized that he had paid for the difference with his own money. After he walked away, I asked the other cashier his name, as I had every intention of getting that money back to him. Ellie and I made our way to the parking lot. As I was loading everything into the Mazda I heard "Excuse me, Miss?" and I turned to see the man who had saved not only my sanity, but my faith in humanity. With a warm smile he simply said "Don't pay it back, pay it forward", then turned and walked away. I yelled "thank you!" after him, but there was no way to express in such small words how much gratitude I really felt.
This cashier at Costco did not know me. He didn't know my hobbies, my religion, my income, my likes or dislikes. What he DID know was that I was a mommy having a very rough morning... and that was all he needed to know.
I'm crying as I type this. Partly because my heart is full from this random and wonderful encounter, and partly because I pray that I will be aware of someone else's need when an opportunity arises for me to pay this debt forward.

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

P.S. The story has a double happy ending: I found my debit card when I got home (phew!!)