[2022-04-09] Pleasant surprises
This evening, while my husband and I were making supper, I received this text:
Hi Jen! Hope you're having a good weekend. Just left a little something from the kids at your front door!
I rushed to my front door, hoping that I would see my friend and her kids, but they had already come and gone. On the chair on my front steps, I found an Easter basket filled with colourful eggs, chocolates and a card.
I immediately replied to my friend's text to thank her and her two wonderful children. She responded:
Easter is a time of hope and you're all about giving hope—to live and love better.
It is incredibly flattering to be thought of as a purveyor of hope and as an inspiration to others to live and love better.
My friend and her kids delivered Easter baskets last year (in addition to other awesome gifts over the course of the past year and a half). I never tire of surprises. Perhaps because they are unexpected, pleasant surprises are truly touching. It is heartwarming to be remembered, valued and loved.
The thoughtfulness of my friend and her kids has inspired me to find a way, at least once a week, to surprise someone. This could be by dropping off food (I'm convinced that baking is my love language), sending a complimentary message (especially in the form of a mailed letter or card), doing them a service, describing 10 things I learned from them, giving them a copy of my recipe file, passing along a book or puzzle, creating a piece of art, editing someone's CV, thanking them for being a positive influence on my life, or recording a favourite poem, passage or short story.
If you have surprised someone in an unusual way, I would be grateful for the inspiration.
