August 21: More Than Generous, Food Bank, Blessings

"You've been more than generous," she said.  "You're a very sweet boy."  She certainly was nice.  She reminded me a little bit of old Ernest Morrow's mother, the one I met on the train.  When she smiled, mostly.  "We've enjoyed talking to you so much," she said.

Holden meets two nuns at a lunch counter, and he has breakfast with them.  When they leave, Holden pays for their food and gives them a ten dollar donation.  That's why one of the nuns thanks him for his generosity.  And after the pair leave, Holden feels bad that he didn't give them more money for their charity.


It really is a humbling experience to be the recipient of unexpected generosity.  My wife and I have been financially struggling these past two weeks.  We hardly had any food in our cupboards this morning.  So my wife decided to go to the local food bank to ask for a few staples to tide us over until Friday's paycheck.

Well, my wife came away with more than peanut butter, jelly, and bread.  She came home with two boxes full of groceries.   Milk and juice and pasta and bread.  My son got to eat a Rice Krispie treat tonight.  I have breakfast food to take to work tomorrow morning.  We have the makings for spinach lasagna.  So many blessings.

I'm not going to talk about any worries this Wednesday.  My kitchen is full of too many things for which to be thankful.  I am so grateful for the generosity my family received this evening.  And to start complaining about something right now would be so wrong, like biting the hand that fed us.  Literally.

I will not forget tonight.  I will not forget the relief I feel tonight.

Saint Marty is a pretty lucky guy.  Plus, he's got pretzels.

Counting my blessings tonight