All Quiet on the Western Front...for now.

The boyfriend is doing better, yay! Still planning on the flight up this week and the drive back in the moving truck next week. As a mom, I question the logic of doing this with several broken ribs, but as DH says  "Stay out of it." Right. As if.
Our cousins who were visiting, left last week headed back down south by going East first. As luck (?) would have it (although I am putting this into the miracle category) after heading East, they were heading back home via THE VERY SAME CITY where boyfriend was in the hospital. They were not only able to see him and visit with him, BUT able to give him a ride home from the hospital to his mom's house. Now, this would not necessarily be a world shaking event, HOWEVER, they had NEVER met him nor his family prior to this, yet went way above and beyond the call of duty to help alleviate our daughter's fears for his safety. They sent pictures via the web (oh I sing the praises of technology!) and it was just great to see him looking fairly intact (I know the pain was unbelievable, but he showed barely a grimace) and his sense of humor was also intact: He thought he had seen a ghost as DH and his cousin, born a few months apart, are in his words "So alike! Look alike, sound alike, act alike!" While I agree with most of the assessments, I think Cousin S looks more like Rudy Giuliani         http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudy_Giuliani, although a lot quieter and not nearly so bombastic. As per sounding/acting alike, there was one funny moment when I was trying to decide an appropriate gift to give the church for the use of the sanctuary and fellowship hall for Son's Eagle, Cousin S jokingly said "Yeah, give 'em 4 or 5 bucks."
I nearly bust a gut and spit out my drink: My DH had said EXACTLY the same thing, to the same dollar figure. (The really funny part is, I think my dad would have said exactly the same thing had he been in on the conversation) Anyway, it was extremely kind and thoughtful of them to take Boyfriend home, meet the family, and to offer parental advice. You rock.
While on the subject of kindnesses, I have been looking for ways to Pay It Forward. I am not going into any details, as do some, it feels too much like bragging here. But what I want to say is there is nothing too big nor too small to give someone a good feeling. It may be as small as a smile to someone who may be having a bad day. It might mean paying for someone's coffee behind you. It might be extravagant like paying for someone else's gasoline. (I have been struck by the number of people in front of me at the gas pump getting $5.00 worth, where is that going to take them? To the other gas station down the block?) I remember being with my dad once at a gas station, many years ago, when gas was probably a buck and change. He was filling up and he noticed a crying woman at the pump. He asked the attendant why she was crying. He replied that they would have to pump out her tank as her credit card was rejected. My dad in his usual way said "For crying out loud, I'll pay for her gas, don't touch it." I think the woman was shocked, the attendant was shocked, but I wasn't. It was normal to me to see my dad be generous. I learned it from him and I don't think there will be any more like him. But here's a challenge:
Prove me wrong...tell me something you or someone did that Paid It Forward in some form or fashion. Put it in the comments, I will print it, totally anonymously. I won't think you're bragging, I just want to know that goodness is alive and well. Ever since my husband had his stroke, we have been the recipients of many, many kindnesses, too many to count. I have tried to mention them in the blog, because I think it is important to acknowledge kindnesses received as is kindnesses given.
Was it a thank you note to someone that treated you well? Did you stand up to a bully on someone's behalf? Did you do the right thing when it would have been easy to look the other way and keep going? Did you pay for a military personnel's dinner? Or perhaps an elderly person's groceries? I really want to know!!! We all need uplifting now and again.