A Good Day
Sometimes giving someone a good day is the greatest gift you
can give them.
My dear friend, Monica, is struggling with cancer. Her
daughters and friends all want to give her a good day. We bring her her
favorite soup from a little Italian restaurant she loves, bring her books and
the complete set of “Friday Night Lights” to watch, strawberries, tea and the
newest perfume that L’Occitane has come up with as she is so excited to try it.
Her days are so full of pain and exhaustion, it would make us so happy if she
just had one good day.
It is easy to wish Monica a good day. She is one of the
sweetest people I have ever known. It fills our hearts with sadness to see her
struggle. What most of us don’t think about is the other people that really
need a good day too. I was in a park and a homeless man came up to me to ask
for some money. I gave him a $10 bill. A man in an expensive suit saw this. He
snarled at me and said with disdain, “You know, he will just spend that on
liquor. He won’t buy food with it.” My response was, “I don’t care, I gave him
a good day.” That man may have bought food, he may have bought beer, perhaps
even a newspaper and a latte. It did not
matter because for a little while, his only thoughts were how he could spend
the money in any way he wanted. I won’t miss that $10, it is the cost of a
lunch or tube of mascara but that was all the money in the world to him.
When my son was younger, he would love it when I would take
him out to eat on Saturdays. We would get an extra meal to go, complete with a
drink and a cookie or dessert. We would place it on a bench in the park where
the homeless would go. We never knew who got our meals but we like to think we
gave someone a good day. For one day, he or she did not have to worry about
having something to eat. For one day, they had a complete, tasty meal and a
full stomach.
So often, we tend to deem whether someone is worthy of
kindness. We judge them without knowing
what they are going through. We cannot
turn their lives around but we can just give them one good day.
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