Random Acts of Kindness

Many of you will remember the windstorm a few years ago when pretty much all of Bellevue lost power a couple of weeks before Christmas.  That night two trees crashed through our roof into the kids’ bedroom, showering their beds with drywall and plaster.  Thankfully we had put them to bed downstairs that night after hearing the weather report, and somehow they slept through the melee.

The next morning, 16 trees crossed our road; after waiting a few days, Chuck and a neighbor went out with a chainsaw and cleared the trees so we could get out of the neighborhood.  Our power was out for nine days, and our house got to 39 degrees inside (a huge hole in the roof did not help).  Our beloved salt water fish froze to death, one by one, despite the every four hour around-the-clock hot water infusion we would swirl in to try to keep them alive.  The children were little, and we were cold, and it was not fun.

On the seventh day, I reached the end of my rope and demanded that we find a latte (yes, with all we needed, it was lack of coffee that put me over the top.  I am a true Seattleite).  We loaded the kids in the car (they needed to warm up anyway), and made our way over to Seattle where the lights were on.  We were low on gas as the Eastside was out, and after going to five different gas stations with no luck, things were starting to get desperate.  We pulled into an open Starbucks where the lights were on, and the line was out the door.  The children were grousing about the wait and I’m sure Chuck wasn’t thrilled, but he said nothing and handed over the money, which was a great idea – he knows me well!  As I entered the warm building and the smell of coffee surrounded me, I just stood and soaked it in.

It doesn’t say much for how I looked after seven days without a shower, but the people in line in front of me instantly asked if I was from Bellevue, and if our power was still out.  As I started to tell my story (the line was long – what did we have to lose?), the word started going forward, mouth to mouth.  Within minutes, a tall nonfat latte was handed back through the line to me, along with four hot chocolates for the kids and a map written on a napkin to a gas station that still had gas.  Many people had written little notes of encouragement on the napkin, and one smiley face.  As I held the gifts from these strangers in line, tears ran down my face.  They all shouted encouragement to me as I headed back out the door, a full twenty minutes before my family expected me to emerge.

I would love to say that that moment was the turning point and it all got better from there, but unfortunately it did not – the power in our house was out for two more days, the rest of the fish died, and I ended up in the hospital for an emergency appendectomy the next day, to be discharged on Christmas Eve.  It wasn’t our best Advent (shockingly, it wasn’t our worst either – the Gillam clan is known for Christmas disasters).  But, through all of that time, the moment I remember most isn’t any of the nightmare that swirled around us, but of that Starbucks, those encouraging people, and that small act of the kindness of strangers that completely changed my state of mind.  May we all find those opportunities to change the lives of those around us, even in the smallest words and acts of kindness.

Sara Gillam