Thursday, April 10, 2014

Your Turn

What is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?


68 comments:

  1. drove 4 hours away to retrieve a handbag I left in a restaurant in the middle of the night

    sat in a parking lot until they opened and brought it back without ever telling me he was going to do it......

    what a great guy! my bf is now my husband

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  2. my ex driving over 400 miles in a beat up truck after my dad died because i needed a hug. i wish i knew how to repay him

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  3. Anonymous10:09 AM

    Lol Count. lol. lol.lol. You left me speechless laughing

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  4. Was there for me and knew exactly what I needed when I needed it during my mother's passing.

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  5. Anonymous10:10 AM

    Well. My partner. he saved my life

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    1. Anonymous10:12 AM

      I think he regrets it now. count made me think better :)))

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  6. When I was in college, I tried to waitress. My service was horrid. I'm not sure everyone knows how hard serving can be!! At any rate, one night I was struggling as usual. I had a one top with a man. He could tell I was struggling. He told me I was doing a great job and tipped me $100. That was big money in my poor college days!!!

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  7. I thought it was pretty nice that my parents decided to keep me instead of getting an abortion. Thanks Mom and Dad!

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  8. I have two - these are very recent.

    I just lost my dog in February - 17 years old, mass on her heart. I wanted to get a tattoo of her paw print on the back of my neck. One of my friends set up a gofundme account, and a bunch of friends chipped in money for me to get it. Then they kept contributing to it, and covered the 300.00 adoption fee for my new pup that I rescued.

    When I had to put my 17 year old baby to sleep, a woman I work for came to say good bye. When it was over, and I was leaving, the office told me she had paid the bill for the services. I am still floored by her generosity.

    I have such amazing friends.

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  9. @rajahcat, nice! You got a winner!

    My husband is the best person I've ever known and does nice things for me constantly, so I feel bad that one of the first things I thought of to answer this question was something my jerk ex-boyfriend did. He was two hours away and drove to be with me after I'd had a truly awful day at work on top of weeks of bad days. I was at such a low point and I told him not to come--it was late in the evening and he'd have to get back to school top open a building at 6am. He said he wasn't coming and then surprised me anyway.

    He really was a terrible boyfriend, but that one thing helped me not to hate him when we eventually broke up.

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  10. Given birth to me.

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  12. They brought me to prom and gave me their class ring

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  13. It would be hard to pinpoint nicest thing ever, but just yesterday a stranger on the train offered me some of his half eaten sandwich. That was nice.

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  14. thx Karen

    +1 @JSierra----my parents were high school seniors.....by today's standards I would probably have been aborted.....sigh

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  15. Well, I wrote something long and deep and meaningful but then deleted it.
    But my boss told me he'd missed me last week when I returned after a week off. I think he meant it.

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  16. A friend of mine basically bought me a plane ticket so I could get back to see my dad before he died (sadly, he died while I was en route, but I'd seen him earlier in the year, before he got very sick). Touched me beyond words.

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  17. My sister gave me a baby. No, wait, that was CPS.

    CPS gave me a baby. But my mother pointed them in my direction.

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  18. I had a friend pay for me to fly to san francisco to house sit for him. I'd always wanted to go and he and his girlfriend needed someone to watch their pets while they were in colorado. They'd just moved there and didn't know anyone in SF. I made a joke that I'd do it and the next thing I know, he's booking my flight and I'm taking a week off work. He left me his unlimited public transportation pass, a credit card for take out, and an amazing pad at pacific and laguna that looked out to the bay.

    He gave me a week of pretending I lived a life of leisure in San Francisco and that is one of the most amazing memories of my life.

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  19. I used to work for a domestic violence shelter where I worked with children on learning healthy ways to manage their anger and emotions. It was always a rough time and I was usually crying when I got home because it was just so sad. My boyfriend at the time was always waiting up for me with chocolate and occasionally (terribly written) poems but it was very sweet. Obviously I couldn't talk about why I was so upset, but he was always there to make me feel better and never pressured me to explain.

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  20. My sister died and I went through a terrible breakup the same week. My best friend came and sat on the couch, uninterrupted for two days. We didn't speak. She just sat there as comfort. A week later when I needed to find somewhere new to live and couldn't muster the strength to get going, she booked a bus ticket back from vacation a day early to help me apartment hunt. And another friend took the day off to help do the move. All done without asking. It was by far the worst time in my life and I would do anything for any of these people because of their immense generosity to when I couldn't do anything on my own.

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  21. I was going to Europe and my boss handed me $1500 dollars and said, have a good time.

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  22. My sister is paying for my children's college educations (three kids), no expense spared.

    I am so, so thankful for her generosity.

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  23. First time, long time... etc. Almost one year ago my beautiful wife was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. In the middle of her fight her employer of 13 years terminated her. No income, no insurance, no gold watch. They literally added insult to injury. My wife had started a blog to share her experience and of course, this was a topic in an entry. To our sheer amazement and shock we received a flood of checks from people we knew and those we didn't. There is NOTHING I can ever do or say to those that helped get us at that time that could ever make them understand how much that meant. The money was awesome, but learning how great people can be after just learning how horrible people can be was incredible and needed.

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  24. When i was in dire need of money to pay my rent, my late boyfriend sold his car so he could pay my rent and my bills.

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  25. I have just read all comments and there are some lovely true stars. Lovely and generous people doing lovely and generous things without being asked.
    It warms the cockles of my heart :-)

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  26. A DA let me off several felony, and misdemeanor counts.......twice, in the past 2 years.

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  27. when my dad died suddenly my husband was there for me when they told me. Held my hand tight. When we went home, he called everybody, and handled alot of things while i was pretty much falling apart and disoriented.
    After burying him, he helped me move everything out his place, hand over keys back to landlord, sold his car.

    he did it all, so i wouldnt have to deal with that pain.

    someone sparing me from that is by far the greatest thing a person has done for me

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  28. @discoflux--wow! Amazing!

    @LiquidReno--oh gosh, tears in eyes.

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  29. My best friend, aptly named Hope, called me right after I had ingested a lethal dose of blood pressure medication in an attempt to take my own life. I was staying in a hotel for a few days under the excuse of "getting some rest". Despite my assurances that I was fine and just needed to get some sleep, after hanging up the phone she called the hotel and told them to get into my room at all costs. She called 911, left work with no explanation and drove straight to the hotel. The staff had already used tools to break the locks on the door and were in the process of trying to get me to speak to them. Hope arrived, crawled into bed with me, held me and quietly soothed me while trying to find out what I had done. I broke down in her arms and whispered what I had taken. She lied there with me and stroked my hair until the ambulance showed up. She without a doubt saved me life. I love her.

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  30. My aunt bought my wedding dress. Will be forever grateful!

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  31. My doctor prescribed me xanax. LoL

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  32. MaryMQC and Liquid..Your posts made me cry. I am so happy you're still here Mary. Liquid, how is your wife? Please tell us she's okay?

    People have done so many wonderful things for me. My list is too long and I consider myself so very lucky to have good people and kind strangers who have touched my life.

    My ex actually drove my belongings up to NYC for me and paid my bills for a while even though I broke his heart. He's still a dear friend to this day. He could have just thrown it all out on the lawn but loved me enough to let me go.

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  33. My husband does a million little things for me every single day, and I'm grateful. But reading all these posts, I'm starting to think I need some new friends. LOL

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  34. I have had many people do kind things for me over the years and I am forever grateful to them. Reading all of these posts made my cry. After all the crap we read on this site, I love stuff like this to lift my heart again.

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  35. My husband died in a car crash and the company I had only worked at 6 months gave me a new car that had lots of airbags so I would be safe. 13 years later and I still have the Mercedes.

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  36. Well the nicest thing I was told today, was when a group of scene/emo girls just randomly came up to me @ Target & told me I was the prettiest girl they've ever seen.

    Hahaha!
    I didn't kno scene girls still existed.

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  37. @Murielle What a touching memory. He must have truly been a keeper.

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  38. I'm sure I'm forgetting something even better than this, but years ago I was flying from Boston home to San Francisco, with a plane change in Detroit. I bought some magazines and some clam chowder in the Boston airport. It wasn't until I got to Detroit that I realized I didn't have my wallet. Which was a real problem since it meant I didn't have any money to pay to get my car out of long term storage at SFO!

    Anyhoo from Detroit I called both the clam chowder shop and the bookstore in Boston and neither had my wallet.

    By some miracle I found a spare ATM card in the bottom of my purse when we landed in SFO so I was able to get cash and get my car and drive home.

    The next morning Fed Ex delivered my wallet with everything in it including $100 cash.

    Apparently there were two bookstores with the same name at the Boston airport, though I didn't know that. I had called the one I *hadn't* gone to. The other store *did* have my wallet and they overnighted it to me across the country!

    I was blown away by that, I sent them a gift certificate and a nice thank you letter.

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  39. @discoflux, Pacific & Laguna is not too shabby! In fact it's some of the best real estate in the city.

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  40. When I finished college in the 80s, there was a shortage of jobs in my field (natch), so I worked afternoons and evenings as a waitress. I applied for a job at a new company in town (an engineering firm that was beginning to computerize). The president turned out to be one of my regular customers, and he hired me because - well, I still don't know why. He certainly took a chance bc it was not the field I had been studying. I trained on-the-job there as a CADD operator, and have worked in the computer field ever since.

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  41. @MaryMQC So glad you made it through all right.

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  42. I collect a certain kind of silverware that is easily available in the UK, but not in the US. I was in London hunting for some of it, and I mentioned to a friend who is an antiques dealer, that I couldn't find any spoons in this silverware. After he explained that there were never spoons made, I forgot about it.

    About six months later, a package arrived from England with eight spoons that he had a silversmith make for me using the bottoms of forks and other spoons. They are one of the things that I cherish more than anything else. So unexpected, so thoughtful.

    Many other people have done great kindnesses for me, but this is a tangible thing that I see and use every day.

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  43. A feel good thread - just what us CDaN-nutters need!
    This week I was at a symposium where one of the topics was on kindness - Social Emotional Learning - neat stuff to google.

    My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few yrs ago; I was her advocate during her last three months in the hospital, 3.5 hrs away from where I lived with my boyfriend. It was a horrible and shocking time; my BF drove every weekend to come and support me - thru snowstorms, looked after the house, bills, our animals - he held me together then and afterward. We married five months later on my mum's birthday. I never experienced such kindness from anyone to that degree - who wasn't my mother - he taught me the act of love through his kindness. I will forever be thankful to him for his support. That's why I heart him so much.

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    1. You just made me tear up! You poor thing. Thank goodness you had a support system.

      I faced the possibility if pancreatic cancer right after I turned 25. It's an experience no family should go through.

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  44. Gave me money when I needed it the most.

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  45. @Kimba What a sweetie!

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  46. A woman's wingwoman left (driving drunk) so that I could spend the night with her also drunk friend.

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  47. Laid off for the umpteenth time and my mother in law shows up with a trunk full of groceries for my husband 3 kids and me

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  48. My wife is still fighting. After six months of chemotherapy, she had no signs of cancer activity. She had a double mastectomy in October and after some complications and healing we just learned that it is back in her bones. Spine and shins. She's only 39 and I can't explain how helpless and powerless I feel through this process.

    She is an amazing writer and her blog is funny and cool... not sad and depressing. I am proud as hell of her for so many reasons and I would be remiss if I didn't post a link to her blog: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/lorirenowski.

    I now have to assume I have earned the award for the most depressing and maudlin first time poster. Where do I go to pick up my trophy and commemorative mug?

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    1. F*ck cancer. And hugs. I'm sorry.

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    2. LiquidReno, I'm reading the blog and your wife is way too badass for some bullshit mugs. Both poignant and hilarious. Praying for you two.

      Fuck.that.shit.Lori!

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  49. Hey, Liquid, I'm fresh out of trophies and mugs for ya...but I send you and your amazing wife virtual well wishes.

    Phuque cancer!!

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  50. The nurses in the ICU and oncology ward let us turn my brother's room into visitor central. He had less than two weeks to live and his friends were traveling from everywhere to say goodbye. They let us also keep the promise that we wouldn't leave him alone, even for a second. They dealt with our crazy mother. When we left the hospital, they gave me their mobile numbers in case we needed anything.

    Another oncology nurse, a friend of a friend who I barely new, helped me understand what would happen next, even doing the hardest thing possible and confirming for me what the doctors couldn't bear to say, and tell me he had little time left. That let me help his family be ready. It was so much easier.

    The friends who let us take over their house when when we lost power at home. They took the risk of him dying in their home so he wouldn't have to go back to the hospital.

    My boyfriend, who held me up through everything. He's probably at the top of the list. Well, definitely.

    So many other people with small acts of kindness. There are so many good people in the world.

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  51. @LiquidReno Sending sincere and hope-filled wishes and prayers to you and your beautiful wife and children, as you battle this together.

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  52. When I was a paramedic pup, I became the social pariah if my class because I wouldn't drink the Kool Aid, and kiss my classmates asses.

    During a clinical, my instructor's friend told me that I didn't have an ego, and that was a good thing.

    It was the nicest thing anyone has said.

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  53. @LiquidReno I want to read every word of your wife's blog but - this being the same time of year that she had her first oncology appointment and me not doing my taxes til the last minute as usual... I have to wait til next week.

    I had to laugh when you said that abot winning an award for the most depressing and maudlin first poster.

    Back in February I had euthanise my sweet cat. 24 hours later there was a pet loss support group, we all went around telling our story and when I said that my cat had died the day before everybody gasped, and in the middle of my grief I had this moment of pride like "Ooh, I win the award for most recent bereavement." And then I wanted to burst out giggling at what a ridiculous thought that was.

    It's a roller coaster and sometimes our reactions are just bizarre.

    Now I know where the "Reno" came from :-)

    Hang in there.

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  55. My i phone fell out of my car and someone picked it up and put it on my door handle. After I finished lunch and began my quick decent into madness after I realized I lost it, and there waiting for me. People get killed for their iPhones.. And some kind soul left it for me! Thanks humanity!

    8:17 PM

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  56. City of Hope Duarte CA...stage 4 breast cancer..2 rounds of high dose chemo...still kicking and its been 12 years! Thanks COH!

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  57. This is one of those "happens in the movies" public kindnesses. Around 1999-2000, I was living in Seattle right in the middle of the dot com boom. I was a lowly entry level consultant so none of that money was flowing anywhere near me.

    It was a Friday night and I ended up at a pub/restaurasnt across the street with my boss and 2 fellow consultants. We had stayed late and decided to go have dinner before all heading home from a really long day.

    We were having dinner and the bartender comes over and said "there is a guy here who wants to buy a round for everyone. He's had a big deal go through and wants to celebrate". There were about 35-40 people in this bar and it was about 7pm.

    Cut to midnight. Every hour the bartender came back and said the exact same thing! All night long!

    So I spent a Friday night in a nice little pub in downtown Seattle while a very rich stranger bought rounds for the Friday crowd for about 5 hours. Our little consulting team bonded quite well with the booze flowing... I asked the bartender if I could say thank you for his generosity and he said not in person, but he'd pass it on. I tried.

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  58. Liquid Reno, my thoughts and prayers go out to you and your wife. I copied your wife's blog site and will read it. Please give her my best, and take care of yourself, also.

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  59. Thank you everyone for your kind words, thoughts, and prayers. One thing I have learned in all of this is that those things mean more than you think. To think I just lurked for years...

    I'm not normally all emotional and squishy... I promise.

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  60. LiquidReno - I read Lori's blod this morning and you've been in my thoughts and heart, all day. Lori said one of her mantras is: you gotta do, what you gotta do. That's it, somehow, putting the foot in front of the other is all you can do - that's okay, that's how we make it through.
    Thanks for sharing and hold on tight to this roller coaster of life. Many hugs to your family.

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