Pay It Forward - Part 2

Ever since my neighbors mowed & fertilized my grass for me ... I've been looking for an opportunity to "Pay It Forward" to someone, and today I got my chance!

While waiting in the Starbucks drive-thru this morning, I decided I'd pay for the person behind me. I was hoping it would be a woman by herself. You know ... she has a quick break from her busy family to get some coffee for herself, and SURPRISE!!! A free latte'!

The drive-thru line was REALLY long. I was the last car. A few minutes later, a car pulled up behind me. YES! It was a woman by herself. PERFECT. However, she quickly changed her mind, parked her car and ran inside. I thought "Bummer for you because you just missed out on a free latte'!"

Another car pulled up behind me ... a woman with her young son. Perfect. She too, got tired of waiting, and drove away. Jeez, this was harder then I thought!

Moments later, another car pulled up behind me. A man and a woman. I thought "Oh dang! I didn't want to pay for a guy!"

LISTEN TO ME!!!! I'm was actually being PICKY about who I Pay It Forward to! Isn't it the ACT of Paying It Forward that's important? What is my problem? I quickly gave myself an "Attitude Adjustment."

So ... I ordered my Tall Skinny Hazelnut Latte' with no foam and pulled forward. I TOTALLY listened while the car behind me ordered. A Grande Frapaccino with a muffin, and a Vente' something-or-other with a scone. 

GREAT! Now my Pay It Forward is going to cost a trillion Starbucks dollars. This just wasn't turning out how I thought it was going to! Then I heard their total: $9.89.

SERIOUSLY? All THAT for under ten dollars at Starbucks? SWEET! I'm in!

So I pulled up ... payed for my latte', and paid for their 47 drinks and 34 muffins. It felt good. REALLY good.

As I pulled away, I saw the man in the driver's seat hand the woman (in the drive-thru) his credit card, look confused, then look at my car. YES! That was fun to witness! 

I wanted to sneak away without them knowing who I was. But this particular Starbucks is on a corner, so as I pulled up to the stoplight, I was actually parallel with their car in the drive-thru ... and it ended up being the best part of the entire experience. 

Besides the 'high' of treating someone with some morning goodies, the sight of their pleasure was unmeasurable. As I passed their car, they BOTH had their heads hanging out their window, smiles wide, happily waving a 'thank you!' wave.

OF COURSE I got tears in my eyes (I cry at nearly EVERYTHING!). If you want the truth. I was a hot-mess. I couldn't really pull myself together. DANG ... that felt great.

Paying It Forward is a win-win situation for everyone involved. It feels good to receive, but it feels GREAT to give!

Now it's their turn ...