A Random Act of Kindness inspired by CA

[LasciviousXXX]

CA is my home. Since the beginning of this great community I have been nothing but amazed by the constant generosity and good will shown by the brothers and sisters of Cigar Asylum. Everything from troop support, charity donations, PIF's, to the little everyday kind words and thoughtful bombs. I am always humbled by the kindness we show to each other and the rest of the world. Just being a part of CA has helped me to try and become a better person.

So it is with that thought in mind that I relate to you my small story from this morning. Today is Mother's Day. Unfortunately I had to work today but am still in fantastic spirits. So, in honor of Mother's Day, I decided to buy all of my female co-workers Starbucks this morning in order to say thanks to all the moms, soon-to-be moms, and women in our lives who make life better. So I collected everyone's drink order and headed down a few blocks to the local Starbucks. It wasn't very busy inside but there were a few people there to begin their morning ritual. I was standing at the end of the line with a list of 8 different drink orders in my hand for my co-workers. A woman in scrubs walks up behind me to get in line. I turn and tell her to go ahead and get in front of me since I have a bunch of orders and I'm sure she only needs a drink or two. She thanks me and gets in front of me in line. I strike up a conversation with her and tell her happy Mother's Day. She tells me that she is a nurse at one of the ER's and is just about to begin her shift. Being in public service myself, I sympathize with her having to work weekends, holidays and night shifts. She says that the hardest part of today was leaving her kids at home this morning. As she was leaving they asked her "Do you have to go? It's Mother's Day." I could tell she was feeling a bit conflicted about having to leave her kids home on what could inexplicably be called "her" day, so wanting to brighten this complete stranger's day I told her I would buy her coffee and her breakfast for her. Unexpectedly the woman broke down in tears right there in the line at Starbucks. To say I was surprised was an understatement. After myself and a Starbucks employee had calmed her down and got her seated she explained why she had reacted that way. She told me that the past month had been extremely hard on her because she's going through a rough divorce. She was going through a harsh legal battle over the custody of her children and had stretched her self a bit thin in her life. She stated that financially and emotionally it had been hard on her as she didn't have any family in the area. She had given up on people and had adopted a pessimistic and deafeatist attitude. She said she broke down crying because it was the first act of kindness that anyone had shown her in months. She didn't even realize how much she needed to know that people are inherently good. She told me that this single act had completely turned her day around and that now she was going to go to work energized, with a positive attitude. I'll tell you, it warmed my heart to hear that.

I got a bit more than I bargained for this morning but it cemented the fact that we all need a boost every now and again in our lives. I credit my CA fam for giving me mine when I needed it, and I also credit CA for inspiring me to pay it forward to another. We never know where people are in their lives or what they may be going through. Thank you CA for teaching me this lesson and inspiring me to be a better person.

Happy Mother's Day! Go out and spread some cheer and do something positive for a total stranger today