When being nice comes back to you

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

Hi Everybody and Merry Christmas along with Happy Holidays for all,

Went to the mailbox yesterday and on top of my mail was a plain envelope with only my nick-name and last name wrote on it. Hmmmmmmm.

So, I of course opened that baby up right away. I was stunned and curious. This is for me? Oh Oh what have I done now was my first thought, then I thought why would someone do this?

Well inside was a $20 bill. I live in the country and hear every car drive in or pass by, but I heard nothing yesterday. Just when the mail lady brought the mail to the box.

At first I felt guilty, surely there are more deserving persons who need this money.

Then I racked my brain trying to remember if I held a door open in town or something of that nature. Couldn't think of anything out of my normal scheme of life.

So I decided to use the money to help fill my truck up with gas. I have appointments the next three days and 1/4 tank of gas. I agreed with myself lol

that that is what this money is for.

Isn't it hard to take a nice gesture from some other nice person and feel you deserve it? I've been pretty darn nice all my life, exxcept to liers and thiefs.

Any one else have an experience like this? I'd really appreciate some feed back.

Thanks!:monkeydance:

[UM Review RN, ASN, RN]

Yes, I helped a new grad out once after an error was made, and I didn't think it was such a big deal, showing her what to do and how to deal with it.

Next day she comes to work and hands me a beautifully wrapped package. Inside was a gorgeous pearl necklace and bracelet set!

She insisted that it was a very inexpensive gift in her native land, so I kept it, but to me, it's priceless. I love wearing the set and I wear it every chance I get and I still feel very humbled to be so honored by her.

[sharlynn]

It's called "paying it forward". You in turn do something for someone else anonymously.

[everthesame, LPN, LVN]

When I started a new job,I helped another orientee with some of the computer stuff. It was really simple troubleshooting stuff such as having problems logging in and not noticing "Caps Lock" was on. A few weeks later I found a nice card and a small gift in my mailbox at work. What seemed like nothing to me meant a lot to her and she was very appreciative.

In the past, I have scraped the car windows for coworkers who I knew had a tough night and would still be on the unit finishing their charting. I have never been "caught" doing this, but I have heard a couple of the recipients mention how nice it was to walk out to the parking lot and discover they don't have the drudgery of scraping windows ahead of them. BTW, I hate scraping windows after a 12 hour shift but knowing I am helping out one of my coworkers makes the job a bit easier.

[bethin]

I picked up the phone and it was a wrong number. But, on the other end was a young woman who sounded desperate. I told her she had the wrong number, but I asked if she needed help. She told me that she was trying to reach her father, as her electric was going to be turned off if she didn't pay by the end of the day. This was in early Jan. She sounded like she had a newborn and at least one toddler in the house. I asked for her address and booked myself to her house. Indeed, she had a newborn and a toddler. I ask for her electric bill and leave to go pay it. After paying, I slipped the receipt under her door and left. The next day, an envelope is slipped under my door. I open it and inside is a card made out of construction paper and other bits and pieces glued on it, much like a toddler would. It simply said "thank you". I don't know how she found out my address, as I never left my name.

No, it wasn't money or something I could wear but I was humbled by the experience.

[Sabby_NC]

Hi Sharona,

What a generous gift, people amaze me all the time with their love gifts.

Hope you are doing ok

Sabby :)

[TCRNCOB61]

I often pay for the person behind me at the toll booth. It's just a dollar, not a hardship for me now but in the past it would have been.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

Unfortunately, this is the price we pay for helping others. What a burden, huh? Even worse are those "rewards" that are more spirtual and really hit you in the heart. I had one of those happen to me (I ran into a former patient in a store while shopping and she gushed thank yous all over me--she was one of the worst patient's I had ever had which made me feel really guilty too). Many of us just do nursing because we are driven to do it and we forget how much we are impacting other people lives. These gifts are our reality checks. Enjoy.

[TazziRN, RN]

in the er i had a pt brought in after a sz. she was an adult, had had her first one a few months earlier, and was still being worked up. her husband came in argumentative and rude, complaining that the last time she'd been in the er we had not done all the necessary tests because she had medicaid, but now she has real insurance and he wanted everything done, etc., etc. he was really giving me a hard time, wouldn't listen to anything i was saying or my questions. finally i told him, "i'm sorry you had a negative experience last time but i wasn't here that day....please give me a chance."

a few hours later, after we'd discharged the pt, i was out of the department and i was paged to return to the er. thinking we were about to get a bad ambulance or something, i almost ran back. i punched in the security code, threw open the door, and ran in........and stopped dead in my tracks.

standing there was the woman's husband, holding a huge bouquet of flowers and looking very chagrined. he apologized profusely for his behavior and thanked me for everything i'd done for his wife. i couldn't believe it, i really hadn't done that much out of the ordinary other than find them another neurologist willing to take her on, because they didn't like the first one they'd been referred to. i still have the card that came with the flowers.

months later the woman came back with a sick child, and i told her how i felt about the flowers. she said that after they'd left her husband told her he would take her home then he had to go find some flowers because of the way i had treated them in spite of how he'd treated me.

[txspadequeenRN, BSN, RN]

this brought a tear to my eye. how generous you are and what a beautiful story....

i picked up the phone and it was a wrong number. but, on the other end was a young woman who sounded desperate. i told her she had the wrong number, but i asked if she needed help. she told me that she was trying to reach her father, as her electric was going to be turned off if she didn't pay by the end of the day. this was in early jan. she sounded like she had a newborn and at least one toddler in the house. i asked for her address and booked myself to her house. indeed, she had a newborn and a toddler. i ask for her electric bill and leave to go pay it. after paying, i slipped the receipt under her door and left. the next day, an envelope is slipped under my door. i open it and inside is a card made out of construction paper and other bits and pieces glued on it, much like a toddler would. it simply said "thank you". i don't know how she found out my address, as i never left my name.

no, it wasn't money or something i could wear but i was humbled by the experience.

[RNAnnjeh, MSN, CNS]

One day I stopped at the corner store to pick up some milk. There was a girl in line in front of me with 2 cups of coffee. Her debit card kept rejecting saying "insufficient funds" and she didn't have enough cash in her pocket to pay for the coffees. When she ran out to her car to scrounge for changed, I asked the clerk to add her coffee to my bill and paid for them. On my way out, she came in with tears in her eyes (she was so embarrassed) and I whispered "I got them, have a good day". She just stood there, staring, and the clerk said "yea, that lady paid for your coffees. Have a nice day".

I've never seen her since, but it still makes me smile when I think about it. Being nice never hurt anyone.

[namaste_71]

I was having a really rough day in Miami and was on my way home after a long assignment. Traffic was bad, drivers were insane, and I was really cranky as I waited in line at a toll booth. When I got to the booth, I found the woman in front of me had paid my toll. As I passed her, I smiled and waved a "thank you." It was then I noticed she had a number of kids in the car with her (a very old car), and that money was probably something she could have used for something else! Needless to say, I was very humbled. I learned -- even in South Florida -- random kindness does happen.

Actually, reading this thread has put a smile on my face. I was feeling really cranky when I arrived to work this morning. THANK YOU!