I was at my parent's house yesterday. And my mom told me a story about a recent trip to the grocery store that made me proud. The story begins as she was at the service counter. She overheard another customer asking a store employee whether they sold jumper cables. The employee told her that they did not. The customer then asked for ideas about where else she might buy them nearby. The clerk directed her to a local big box hardware store, about a half mile away. (Not a pleasant walk, as it's a busy suburban highway stoplight hell. And it's cold here in Minnesota right now.) The woman was clearly in distress and mentioned that she'd been trying to get help in the parking lot for almost an hour, with no luck.
At this point, my mom stepped in and told the woman that she would help her out. She told the woman that she (my mom that is) had to go home, but my dad would come over and help her get her car started.
(My dad was keeping an eye on my two year old daughter at their house and she had to go home to switch roles....)
My folks live pretty close to the store, so my dad arrived there about 15 minutes later. He entered the store and managed to find the woman. He then went to her car and got it started for her. He'd brought a spare pair of jumper cables and insisted on giving them to the woman. And he also decided to give her some money to fill her gas tank.
I should point out that my dad is a notorious tightwad when it comes to buying "things". We tease him about his old jackets and beat up sweatshirts. (This morning, he was wearing a 20 year old Elmer Fudd hat that my brother used to wear when he played pick-up hockey in high school.) But when it comes to my brother and me, he's generous to a fault. I can't remember how many times he's slipped me a little cash when he's found out that we had an unexpected car expense or something of that sort. I guess when he decided to help her, she became a "member of the family".
I heard a version of this story from each of my parents. (My dad told me about it when we were out running errands, not knowing that I'd already heard about it from my mom.) As each of them told the tale, each of them was clearly proud of how the other had acted. And when I told my dad that I was proud of him for what he'd done, I could tell that the experience had made him feel great.
I'll be thinking about my parents the next time I have a chance to do something nice for someone in need. I hope that I won't pass them by in the parking lot.