I was hit with a random act of kindness........

One of the things (sometimes way too many things) that I am involved with is coin collecting.  During the past 10 years I had been quietly assembling a collection of the 50 state quarters that were being released for circulation and for some reason decided I would go ahead and gather enough to make 10 complete sets.  The first book I began to work on came with some clear plastic sheets that would slide between each of the pages holding the quarters in order to hold the quarters in place.  The other nine books that I was in the process of filling up just had a space to press the quarters into.  By the time I had gotten up to 45 quarters having been issued, for some reason I misplaced the sheets that were for holding the final five quarters in place and for the life of me I could not find them.  So I continued to fill up the other nine books and the 10th book remained incomplete.  This went on for the last several years.

Earlier this month I decided I would make an effort to finish the final book regardless of what was required.  I went to the bookstores to see if they had any of the books designed for the 50 state quarters similar to what I had and I could not find any.  The books themselves had also been changed to allow for the US territory quarters that had recently been released to be included as well.

I decided to go the the coin shop located here in town to see what they had in stock.  After all, this was one loose end that just needed to be tied off!  Much to my chagrin, they did not have any of the books I needed.  I decided I would go ahead and get one of the coin books that included spaces for the US territories but I was then informed that they no longer had any of the coins for either the states or the territories!.  Feeling somewhat disappointed, I began to leave the store when suddenly it occurred to me to ask the lady if they had any of the transparent plastic sheets I needed so that I could use the book I already had.  She did!  They happened to be just the right size and when I offered to pay for them, she declined and said they were mine to keep.  So I was able to achieve what I set out to do and no cost was involved thanks to her generosity.  Needless to say I was feeling pretty good about how things turned out that afternoon.

So with that in mind, I will always remember how significant a small gesture can be and endeavor to "pay it forward" at some time in the future.  A little be of kindness can make a big difference for someone!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!