We sat at the Cheesecake Factory (LOVE that place!) after a successful day of shopping at Ikea (love THAT place! ;). It had been a while since my sweet friend and I had gotten to catch up and we had so much to talk about! Our conversation jumped from topic to topic with ease, as we munched away at our delicious food. Just as we were licking our forks clean, a kind old man who had been dining at a table across from us with his grown son approached our table. He leaned in, smiled, and said something along the lines of “I have never seen two more sweet and classy young women… I covered your check for you ladies tonight.” and with that he turned and walked out the door.

WHAT! WHAT! WHAT! We were floored. We’d barely even acknowledged him and his son… only a simple smile when they sat down, and a shared laugh as our waitress delivered a MASSIVE Oreo cheesecake to my friend and me for dessert.

We were so touched. And shocked. And blessed. We ran out the door after him, hugged him, and thanked him over and over again for his generosity. To him, it was a simple act, but to us, it was extraordinary.

The rest of the night we’d get big smiles on our faces from time to time and say, “I can’t BELIEVE that man paid for our dinner!! AMAZING.”

And I got to thinking… sometimes I get stuck in the frame of mind that generosity has to be something CRAZY or over-the-top. But it doesn’t. Random acts of kindness don’t have to be outrageous. Paying for the person’s Starbucks in line behind you, giving up your seat to someone else, mailing an encouraging note, holding the door, offering a compliment, covering someone’s dinner bill… sometimes something even as simple as listening can be an extraordinary gift to someone.

So to the kind man that paid for our dinner… thank you. Not only for your generosity, but also for the reminder that opportunities to extend kindness and bless others are everywhere. Thank you so very much.