A Christmas Memory
We were dirt poor. We had been married a few years and had poured everything we had into growing our business and our life together. Every day like clockwork our first customer would show up faithfully at 6:30 in the morning. He fit the definition of a crusty old man for sure. He wore the same leather jacket day in and day out, chain-smoked, and would sit on our patio every morning with a friend. He brought in his same mug everyday and he didn’t believe in cleaning it in between uses. From the outside he seemed like a crusty old man but we both came to really care about him. When people show up to your business day in and day out no matter the weather, no matter their limited budget, they gain your attention, your appreciation, and your friendship. Their support is what keeps the lights on. He had started out as a Folgers coffee drinker and over the time span of coming to our shop, he had grown to love our coffee. He genuinely developed a taste for good coffee!
One December day he came in and told us that he unexpectedly needed new tires on his car and how much of a strain that would be on his limited budget. We both without saying anything to each other heard what he said and his need went straight to our hearts. Later that night, his comment was brought up in our conversation and we both felt a tug to do something to help him this Christmas. Honestly, we really weren’t in a position where we could easily help someone financially so what we gave truly was a sacrifice. We scraped together what we thought was enough and came up with a plan. A few days later we drove to his mobile home park and went to the front office, hoping we wouldn’t see him. We put what money we had down and asked the clerk to put the money towards his rent anonymously.
The next day he showed up at his usual 6:30 in the morning and told us all about how someone had paid his rent. I can’t explain the exact feeling that giving that gift invoked in us that day but I can say that seeing how much that gift helped him and relieved him even a bit financially made me feel genuine happiness. I wasn’t happy in a selfish way because I had done something, but I was grateful that it had meant something to him and it had done something internally to us as well.
We were sitting at breakfast a few days ago with our kids talking about Christmas when this story came to my mind. We acknowledged how fun it is to get presents (they are five and eight) and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s part of the magic. But we also told them this story as it truly is one of our most memorable Christmas acts of giving and we wanted to share it in hopes that it would inspire others to see a need around them and respond to it.