Paying it forward

I've been very fortunate in my life to be helped by many people. As a senior in high school when my mom and I weren't getting along, an older friend at work invited me to stay with her family as long as I needed. It kept me from committing murder, running away or going crazy. I ended up living there for about 2 months until Jeff and I married. I was able to stay in school, graduate and work on my relationship with my mom. I've always appreciated the support this friend gave me, it made all the difference in my life at the time. Other kindnesses shown me have included small but important things such as; rides to work, buying me lunch, making my family dinner, folding my laundry (thanks mom!), shoveling my walk, etc. Many "larger" things have helped me in times of need such as; money showing up in the mail with a card for no reason (thanks Kim!), allowing us to do our laundry at their house and then feeding us (thanks Sandy and Gordon), helping with car repairs, watching my kids-even as long as a week so Jeff and I could go on a cruise (Thanks Carla and Gene!!!), help with cleaning my house, and so many other things. I'm always glad when I have an opportunity to give back, to return those kindnesses by paying it forward to someone else. You never know when those opportunities will arise but when they do, I know I'm always blessed to have them. Right now, we have Jordan's friend living with us and though it's been a little stressful to have one more teenager to worry about, I know this is my opportunity to show appreciation for what my friend did so long ago for me by paying it forward to him.