Violet's Day of Kindness

This morning as I was driving home from work, I stopped by the mailbox to pick up the mail from the day before.

We had the usual - a bill of some sort, a magazine, something from Walgreen's, and a key for a package.

I thought to myself... I haven't ordered anything? 

Wonder what it could be?

Then it hit me - OH YES... My birthday is on Saturday!

I bet Jeremiah ordered me a birthday present!!

I stood at the mailbox debating on what I should do.

Should I open the package door and take the box home with me?

Should I leave the key in the mailbox and let him get it out so I can still act surprised??

Hmm, maybe I could get the package, take it home, accidentally open it and blame it on the fact that I thought it was something from my parents?

(I'm absolutely terrible with patience...)

Sooooo, of course I got the package and took it home with me!

 The box was addressed to me anyways, so my theory on opening it would be legit, right?

However, when I opened the package, I was surprised to find two small items from my baby registry.

Ohhhhhh, that's what the package was!

Someone had purchased us a gift for baby Jayla and had sent it to us since they couldn't make it to the shower in a couple weeks.... Got it!

A cute little bathtime wrap and tug tunes toy!

I hurried and took a picture to send to my mom and Jeremiah to show them what we got in the mail.

And then I stop because I see who the package is from...

(I will leave the name anonymous for privacy issues at this time)

The package was from someone that neither Jeremiah or I know.

From a state/place that neither of us have any clue about.

But they left a message on the order form.

"In memory of our daughters Alexandria and Hope.  We hope you enjoy these little gifts.  For more information, please visit "VIOLET'S DAY OF KINDNESS" on Facebook."

My heart has never smiled so big before...

Reading this and receiving such a selfless gift from a stranger can really make you realize how blessed you are.

I had never heard of this day, but I'm extremely thankful I was able to learn about this through a random act of kindness. 

And a BIG thank you to the kind stranger for the baby gift and sharing such a special day of giving with us!

 

Violet's Day of Kindness is a day that Jeremiah and I will definitely participate in each year from now on and something we can teach Jayla as she grows up.

  For it is always better to give than it is to receive.

Until next time...

Act of Kindness

  

 

Oh, it sure has been a long time since I last wrote in my blog.

Over a year I think?

I've just been so busy with school, rotations, life, etc.

I have missed my "therapy" very much so.

I love writing as a way to get my thoughts out of my head and to share my experiences that may touch another person or help someone who can relate to what happens to me.

Anyways, my post today is about a very special lady that I just met at work.

 

I am currently on my 5th rotation at Rite Aid.

I have three more weeks left before I move onto my very LAST rotation of pharmacy school.

94 days til graduation.... but who's counting?

I have learned so much about retail pharmacy, insurance companies, and the dreaded deductibles that probably a lot of you are experiencing since it's the start of a new year.

January SUCKS for so many patients!

And this has a lot to do with my story about today.

A sweet elderly lady came into the pharmacy to pick up her prescriptions this evening.

She had 8 total medications ready.

After greeting her and talking to her about her crazy long day, we started ringing up each of her meds.

The prices were adding up quickly and I could see the look of shock coming across her face.

I told her the total for her medications and she just looked at me with tears in her eyes saying she couldn't afford all of them.

 

In a situation like this, as a pharmacist intern, what do you do?

 I told her to let me check her profile and see if she had a deductible on her new insurance.

Of course, she did....

From my end, there was no way I could bring down the prices of any of her meds.

The sweet elderly lady asked if I would go through each of her meds, what they were for, and we could pick out the ones she needed most with the amount of money she had.

We went through each med, one by one...

And every single med, she said she really needed...

I felt for her and I wanted to help her, but there was nothing I could do.

I definitely couldn't afford her medications.

I'm still a broke college student at this point... 

Seriously... 

I think I have $2.31 in my account.

 

She finally picked out 5 medications that she needed the most and that she could afford.

I voided her previous transaction and started a new one just ringing up the 5 medications.

When we were almost finished, a woman behind her walked up to the register and asked if she wouldn't mind, she would like to pay for the other 3 medications she couldn't afford.

The sweet elderly lady started to cry and hugged the giving woman and thanked her over and over again for her kind generosity.

She kept saying, "God bless you. God bless you."

I've read the posts about people paying for the car behind them in a drive thru or at Starbucks (which I think is awesome by the way), but I've never gotten to experience it firsthand.

It was amazing to see someone give so generously to help someone else in need. 

To see the pure grateful heart of the sweet elderly lady and the selfless love to a stranger of the giving woman, it truly touched my heart in a deep way. 

 

It is said best in Acts 20:35

"It is more blessed to give than to receive." 

Until next time...