Have you been surprised by an unexpected act of appreciation?
It is those unexpected moments of kindness and appreciation that makes you look at the world with a macroscopic lens of positivity.
One mundane day after work, I walked up my front porch to find a paper bag left outside the front door. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat this time!
Daringly, I reached in to the paper bag to find a $20 gift card to Wawa and a sweatshirt with a business logo.
How it all started…
Several months back our water pipe broke. At least that’s what our City’s water department and Roto-Rooter told us. We were told there is no rhyme or reason for the break.
“These kind of things just happen with old pipes.”, the City told us. “You live in one of the oldest city in the nation.”
Which is true. We have more potholes and city maintenance work than any other city I've lived in. Lane closure at 8am for construction? Nothing new. Our vehicles pile up in city traffic while rubberneckers watch the city workers drill or pave away.
So OKAY. I thought the City would fix the broken pipe since it’s on the street and public property.
WRONG!
Did you know the City will not fix a water pipe if the break is on the pipe leading to your home? Did you know your home insurance does not cover a water pipe break if it is outside your home? All news to me!
We were quoted nearly $5,000 USD to fix the pipe since they have to dig underground. Out of our own pocket. What choice did we have but to fix? We had no running water. Our basement had inches of clogged sewer water. Yes, it was disgusting. We made an appointment for work to be done the next day.
Surprise knock on our door.
As we were having dinner and discussing how we would pay for this unexpected cost, there was a knock at the door. We weren’t expecting anyone. The person at the door turned out to be a master plumber who saw the sewage debris on the street. He was just starting out with his plumbing business. He asked if he can try to unclog the pipes for us.
From his experience, most times the issue is a simple clogged pipe. His service pitch was to unclog using some version of a snake and not charge us for the service unless it fixed the issue. If fixed, his service fee is $250.
Why not? If a clogged pipe is really the issue, then paying $250 is far better than paying $5,000! So at 8:00pm, this unexpected plumber visitor started working on the clogged drain. All available hands helped with that sewage gunk, of course.
Me? I watched busily from the front porch, tea mug in hand.
We didn’t have much hope since two companies told us it was a broken pipe. Imagine the surprise, and gratitude, when he fixed the problem!
It was simply a clogged pipe. The pipe wasn’t broken as told to us by the City and Roto-Rooter. A plumbing job that would have cost us $5k was fixed by this saint of a plumber, in our eyes, that just happened to drive by our home.
Acts of Appreciation
The plumber asked if he could stake a sign in front of our home advertising his business. Of course! We were grateful for his service. We would be happy to help in what ways we can. The sign was left and summer turned to winter. Life moved on but the sign stayed on our front lawn.
How People Surprise You
The gift left to us was his thoughtful way of showing appreciation. He wanted to thank us for letting him leave the sign in front of our house. It was completely unexpected! We hadn’t expected anything in return. He saved us money. Our way of showing appreciation was to let him advertise his business. His act of appreciation was to thank us with a gift.
We don’t see unexpected gestures of kindness and appreciation often in life. We hear of senseless violence and wonder what our world will become. Then one day, someone surprises you with an act of goodness. It is these small token of appreciation that shines light upon the goodness in people.
Thank you for stopping by! Have a BEE-ATIFIC day!
Image Sources:
Plumber, Sign, Heart, Photos original
Beeyou image by@seaslim