When we are helped, how do we say thank you?  To me the generic words of thanks have lost much of their meaning.  Children are taught it’s polite to say thank you…do we teach them the true meaning though?  Is it just out of politeness that we say thank you?

Personally I like to let the person who helped me out, gave me a gift, or just did something nice know exactly what that offering did.  Not just a simple thank you but something to show them that they made a change in my life.

I tend to do this in my blog posts.  When someone does something good for me I like to make it something special and dedicate a post towards that person.  I don’t often mention the name of the person…some folks just don’t want that kind of attention.  It’s really simple to do these days with places like MySpace, FaceBook and the countless free blogging programs available.

Who can you say thank you to today?

I would like to thank an online friend who recently sent me a brand new microwave.  I had no wishes running, had not expressed a real need for one but this lady had some extra funds and wanted to do something nice.  She was going to buy me a compact fridge as I did need a fridge but when she learned I had bought a used freezer and had no need for a fridge she fished around to find out what else I could use.  We got to talking about microwaves and I had mentioned mine had blown around the time my fridge died.  We were going to replace it with another cheap tiny one but couldn’t find one under $30 so would just do without.

Well…she went online shopping for microwaves and started sending me links and I look through and commented till she found one I really liked.  GE 1.1 cu. ft. Capacity Countertop Microwave Oven,

So, we got to talking about the reviews on it, the pros/cons and I commented I have never had a micro that big. That would be cool to have as I could cook an entire meal at one time rather than breaking it up to two different dishes like I used to do with my mini one.  Next thing I know….she ordered it!!  She sent me the ship to store information.  Of course I said…My goodness you don’t need to do this!  This wasn’t something I needed.  It would be nice to have, very convenient, and of course it’s a beautiful sleek machine that would do a great job but it was a luxury item.   I could continue to cook my meals with my electric fry pan, electric boiling pot, electric griddle and toaster oven.  I don’t have a stove so I use all counter top appliances to cook our family meals.

This very  thoughtful friend insisted she wanted to do something for our family and though a microwave is considered by me to be a luxury item, it’s also a useful kitchen tool that could help me with family dinners.  She pretty much was not going to take no for an answer.

Not long before this she had sent me some winter clothing since my movement to the wheelchair caused some weight gain and none of my winter clothes fit me.  She has a heart of pure gold and I wish all the best things in life for this lady.  She doesn’t have an easy life herself.  She lives with a disability from an automobile accident and while she does work her paycheck doesn’t really inflate her purse very much.  She lives in a rather rundown apartment and dreams of one day moving to something nice while accepting her reality.  She really didn’t have the funds to be blowing on an internet friend like that, but at the same time it wasn’t going to put her without her basic needs so she wanted to do this.  That is someone with a true giving spirit.  She didn’t feel sorry for me, she knew this was not a basic need and I could get along just fine without a microwave, but she wanted me to have something nice as she knows that while I tend to my bare basics and do stay above the urgent need level….I don’t have luxury items.

Could I send a friend a microwave?  Sorry friends….chances are I will never be able to do that.  I can barely afford to go to a dollar store to get my mom, sis or sons a birthday present so I could never be able to give someone such an expensive luxury item.  I feel wonderful about giving a few bucks every month to people in need on MicroGiving and hoping that that few bucks helped them get something they really needed.

I can only imagine what a good feeling it is to get someone something they don’t really need, but would really like to have.

I was so thrilled when we got the microwave.  Amy and I opened it up like it was a holiday morning!  We cleaned up a special spot for it and we had already bought some barely nutritious, overpriced, small portion frozen dinners to celebrate our new to us freezer and brand spanking new HUGE sleek microwave and everyone got a chance to use it cooking their luxury TV dinners.

To that special friend THANK YOU!  The newness has not worn off either, I find myself nuking my coffee water rather than using my little teapot I picked up at goodwill.  Seems my coffee tastes better when made in a fancy microwave oven

This entry was posted on Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 8:08 pm and is filed under Becky's Corner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.