Do this for me

12 Aug Do this for me

Writing this down.

Here.

Cheapens it.

I know.

Yet. I’d like more people to have it. So. I offer it.

I’ve committed every day of my life to kindness. Every nightI ask myself if I am proud of the wake I left in the world. If I am not, I do something to answer yes.

I stayed in Boston months ago for 4 nights. Hard to be away from my kid for that long. It is a trip I do once a year to fill my head and heart with expansiveness.

Since I do this every year, I have a lot of affection for the people who work at the facility.

If you have read my blog before, you may remember the post I did about secretly doing kind things for people. Under the radar. I have posted about the people who clean up after us in hotels. How often they do not receive a tip or a thank you note. I leave a thank you note and a tip every time.

Felt like it wasn’t enough.

It isn’t. The people (mostly women) who clean up after us are underpaid.

Don’t think so? Do me a favor. Take 15-minutes and stand over the bed you sleep in. Put a pillow case on and off a pillow for 10 minutes. See if you can do it without hurting. No matter how big your arms are- 15 pillow cases later it hurts.

Now, do that all day. This is not easy labor. I’m not even talking about how gross their job must be at times.

So. I put a “do not disturb” sign on my door for the entire stay. I talked to the woman who came to clean my room. I told her I needed something from her. I asked her if she had a moment?

Sure.

How long does it take to clean a room like this?

About 15-20 minutes depending on the person who stays in it.

Are you willing to do something for me.. maybe a little unusual?

Sure. What do you need. (no hesitation)

See that chair over there. The one by the window?

um.. yes….

Will you sit in it for 15 minutes?

What?

I do not need you to clean. I’m fine. The room looks great. I’d love it if you just closed the door, put your feet up and hung out. For me.

She teared up.

I’m not sure if I’m allowed to…

allowed to what.. do what a guest is asking?  I smile at her…

She hugged me. Not the weird pat on the back hug. We had, well, a moment.

I let her know she wasn’t allowed to clean my room all week. That is was the least I could do and it would make me feel like I did something.

We touched hands each time we walked by each other in the hallway that week. I felt like I had this person there with me that understood.

Understood? What the heck?

We talked about her son and my son. About the days she is away from him and someone else picks him up from school. All the ways she wishes she could see him run out of the oak doors of his school. We talked about our boys: mine 6 and hers 9. The grow up so fast.

Those moments in the hallway I had a connection to another mom and it just felt yummy.

She left me an origami bird on the chair in my room with a note. She used to spend hours creating things and spent the 15 minutes making decorations for her upcoming anniversary. She wanted me to have one because if I lived in town, she’d make sure there was a place at her table for me.

So. I sat on this blog for 4 months. I felt it would cheapen the story if I talked about it. Anonymous matters to me in doing kind acts.

Then. I thought of what I got from this act. Just for me. Selfishly.

So.

Do this for me.

It feels too good, the feeling I had in April, to not share it with you so you can have it too.