Seidel,todays!Ali:…

Can I share my own “Pay It Forward” story please?

When I was just married in 1982, we bought a house in a new development and there were many young families with BIG mortgages. Not starving people who would qualify for public assistance or a Charity Hamper…but most of us were just housebroke!

I noticed one family, with 2 young children and I could gather from neighborhood chit chat, these folks were having a hard time financially but were proud people and they tried to hide their money problems, asking for nothing, surely not wanting pity or handouts.

Having no children of our own and no youngsters in the extended family, we didn’t have the pleasure of shopping for any little ones so I quietly adopted this young family. I made up a big basket of wrapped gifts for everyone (much homemade and few PC incorrect “regifts” (gasp) and nothing of real great value as I could not afford many extra’s myself ) just some food stuffs, homemade cookies and fruitcake… to make their Christmas just a little special. I had great fun being creative, making all sorts of kiddie-stuff, culling through my craft materials and making a fabric covered shoe box filled with markers and stamps and other crafty items I had quit using,….mum got a regifted a fancy perfume/soap/body lotion gift set, dad got some never worn clothes my hubby had been gifted and never like enough to wear…plus I bought some dollar store items that filled up the basket cheaply yet with usable items like socks, shampoo and bubble bath, batteries, placemats, food seasonings etc) I dressed in black to hide in the shadows… sneaked in the dark and left the big package on their step late one night….! Of course, I did not hear anymore about it and just went on thinking I was very crafty for not being figured out. I did take satisfaction in seeing the little boy wearing a sweater I had given and I also saw the little girl with the doll I bought and she showed me how her dolly had come with a whole wardrobe of homemade but fancy, sparkly clothes. I secretly glowed.

That following summer, one morning I went out to my front flower garden and found a bleached white Long Horned Cattle Skull nested in my rustic flower bed amid the old wagon wheels, plough and other vintage items I had collected as garden accents. I KNEW this distinctive skull came from these people’s front garden. I had admired it and mentioned to them a few years ago and was told the boy and his dad found the skull while hiking and the young son insisted on bringing it home and he felt it was a real find. Now there it was, the bone pure white from sun bleaching, with its impressive, extremely long, ivory-like horns gracing my garden! I did wonder if perhaps neighborhood hooligans might have been playing a joke and stealing and swapping around people’s garden art so I went right over and asked the people…the little son actually as I knew it to be “his”. He told me “YES!” he had brought it to me as a surprise gift because he knew I liked it. He told me about their Christmas hamper left on their doorstep and he said his family suspected I was their secret Santa. Feigning complete innocence, I asked him why he thought it was me….. and with childlike candor this 10 year old boy said “Well, you ARE the nicest OLD LADY (aged 23) on the street and my mum said you would be the only person who would do this weird thing….” While I did not confirm this (the part about being “weird” OR the secret Santa part), denied it, in fact (still thought it was more fun for them to enjoy the happy mystery of not knowing for sure and frankly felt a bit embarrassed…) I did thank him heartily for the unique skull gift as I knew he treasured this skull, found with his dad, but he insisted he did want me to keep it. It was his “best” to give and he sacrificed to give me something he knew was a good item for me and one I would cherish.

I kept that precious skull in my garden, just where the little boy had placed it. When we sold the house, the skull moved with me. I was so touched every time I looked at this distinctive gift, knowing it came from a little boy’s sweet thankful heart and knowing he too felt happiness at giving an unexpected yet prized treasure to make someone else happy. This story, of course, was long before the Pay It Forward movie but all these years later and several LONG moves, I have lost contact with this little boy who would now be a wonderful adult man…but this irreplaceable skull goes with me and will always remind me of loving kindness returned 100 fold. I have not ever received a more meaningful gift.