I went to Kroger on Valentine's Day morning, mainly to buy groceries, but also to get the girls a last-minute gift for Valentine's Day (which snuck up on me this year!) Trent had already given them each a beautiful pink rose and a chocolate marshmallow heart, and we had discussed the pros and cons and my buying them *more* when they had acted a tad unappreciative of his thoughtful gifts.
I don't know if it's a universal dilemma for parents of small children, but I find myself with a seemingly irreconcilable cognitive dissonance of wanting to give my children everything they could possibly ever want or need, and wanting them to be grateful for what they have (and, ultimately, satisfied with less). This thought was on my mind on Saturday morning when I went to pick up a small gift for the girls. (I had actually already told them I was going to bring a surprise home before Trent and I talked, so I could hardly come home completely empty-handed).
As I was walking into the store, I decided that I would forgo the customary Valentine's balloons that we have given the girls for the past few years, and "just" buy them the small, 6-piece heart-shaped box of chocolates.
However, as soon as I walked into the store, I was overcome by the sheer amount of red heart-shaped balloons they had prepared for the occasion. "Maybe I'll just ask how much they cost," I thought to myself, as I approached the woman in charge of the flower department.
"They're free today," she said cheerfully. My heart soared just a little bit, until the recognition set in that I would need not just one, but three free balloons, which was surely too much to ask. I decided to just be up-front about it, and told her that I had three girls at home.
She responded with a smile and said, "Go for it!" Then she led me over to the table where another woman was anchoring each free balloon with foil tissue wrap filled with several pieces of chocolate. She told the woman that I needed three balloons, smiled at me and returned to her station.
It's funny, the things that can surprise us. Lately it seems like every time I turn around, I'm hearing more bad news about the economy. A couple of friends have lost their jobs. The director of the girls' Montessori school was talking about the ripple effects--families have lost jobs or income (eg rental income from tenants whose sales have declined), and they, in turn, are having to withdraw their children from her school, opting instead for public schooling. It's difficult not to have panicky feelings over the state of the economy, or to try not to worry about how scary things may become before the economy starts to improve. For these reasons and more, the kind gesture of the free Valentine's Day balloons brought tears to my eyes. I stood there watching Kroger's "Valentine's Day customer service representative" tie the little anchors of chocolate to each balloon, and it was all I could do to hold back the tears. Tears of gratitude; tears of hope.
I paid for my groceries and then went back to find the woman in the flower department. I waited until she finished up with a customer, and then told her how much it meant to me that they were giving away free balloons on Valentine's Day, and how happy my girls would be when I got home. I thanked her, again fighting back the tears, and she gave me a hug, and thanked me in return for taking the time to speak to her before I left.
Part of me felt sort of silly for making such a big deal out of such a relatively small gesture. But most of me felt compelled to let the flower lady know that this small deed didn't go unnoticed, or unappreciated. And all of me felt that it's exactly these kinds of gestures--small gifts of kindness (or "random acts of kindness," as they are known) that give us all hope for a brighter future.
I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes by Margaret Mead: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." That morning in Kroger, I believed it.
I walked outside to my car, and drove home with three free Valentine's Day balloons, and one very grateful heart.
Three giddy girls greeted me at the front door with open arms.
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