A Random Act of Kindness

My cell phone rang as I was about to leave for Minneapolis this morning.  I looked at the screen “Apt Front Door.”  Hmm.  Usually, the front door calling me is a mistake:  Someone else ordered pizza and the delivery person dialed my number; some kid needs to be let into the building because “latchkey kid” takes on a different meaning when your parents don’t leave one; or someone just wants to mess with whomever answers for Apartment #311.  I usually still answer on the off-chance that the love of my life is waiting in the vestibule.

You never know.

Today, my “Hello?” was answered by, “I’ve got a UPS delivery for an ‘Andrea.’”  Um…okay.  I’m never around for these things as I’m accustomed to being employed.  “Do I come to you or do you come to me?” I’m all about etiquette.  He let me know that it’d be best that I play fetch so I slid on my faux crocs and headed out my door with Grendel on his leash.  It was an adventure for both of us.  Simple pleasures.

As I rode the elevator to the first floor, I wondered why UPS would be delivering something to me.  I hadn’t ordered anything. I couldn’t think of anything that was being sent to me.  I hadn’t forgotten to respond to my latest “Disney Movie Club” selection.  Stymied, I signed for the Amazon.com box.  Once it was in my grubby hands, I shook it.  Nothing.  It was so terrifically light, I couldn’t imagine what was inside.  I reeled in my dog who was trying to run away for his new life as a Brown Ride-Along and started peeling the tape off the box.  Nothing indicated what it was or who it was from…I was clueless…until I cracked open the box in the elevator.  About when I reached in is about when I realized what it had to be:

It was a microplane.

I howled.  I hooted.  I slapped my knee.  I startled my dog.  I made a whole lotta noise in that elevator.  I was tickled pink.

The quick backstory is that I tend to update my Facebook page with whatever is crossing my mind.  It’s what it asks of us Facebook participants when it says, “What’s on your mind?”  So, I answer.  My updates are anything from what I’m doing to what I’m thinking to what I’m eating to what I’m wanting.

At 5:47pm on October 15th, my Facebook status said, “Andy Lien needs a microplane.  My mailing address is on my Info page.  Thanks.  Mwah.”

And here it was.  I could say “Ask and ye shall receive,” but that would be borderline ridiculous.  We can’t just order up what we want and it’ll just arrive by way of UPS.  But, I can surmise that there are random acts of kindness out there and they will never cease to delight me, whether I’m on the giving or receiving end.

In this case, I read the slip of paper that came with my new microplane and gasped when I saw that it was from my college friend, Amanda.  The first surprise was the gift.  The second surprise was who was behind the giving of the gift.

How lovely.  She and I had reconnected over Facebook. We kept up with each other and when she learned I was an unemployed event planner, she asked me to help coordinate her wedding day.  She’s a smart, crafty gal who’s got an eye for organization and aesthetics that I appreciate.  Since the wedding, we’ve also found that we share the same Community Supported Agriculture program at Featherstone Farms.  I daresay we’ve run into similar cooking challenges this past season; a season during which I have needed a microplane many a time.

The note she included with the microplane expressed gratitude for the help I lent on her special day.  I’m smiling and shaking my head as I re-read the note.  The kitchen tool was more than that to me.  What could be seen as a simple thank you or a fulfillment of an online request was truly a random act of kindness…and one I can’t let go without paying forward.

Amanda, your cup of good karma runneth over.

Now, it is my duty to continue the trend.

Oh, the places we'll go.

My, what sharp teeth you have.

All the better to eat...pardon me, I've got to go clean up a photo shoot.