So I went on a run today...

This is just a short story of something that happened today. But it got me thinking:

So I went on a run today after work. Now before you start silently applauding me, I was not running for my own well-being, because I’m concerned about my health, or I realized I am not going to be in my early 20s forever. In fact, I went and got myself a large Dunkin iced coffee afterwards! I told someone I would run a half marathon with them so unfortunately I have to run.

Anyway, I had passed this lady pushing a stroller with her sweet little baby in it. And I had given her that pleasant nod you do when you are trying to run but also not die at the same time. I continued on my run and saw this rubber giraffe laying on the sidewalk. If you have had kids or babysat before, you know exactly what I am talking about. It’s one of those that you give a baby when they are teething. So of course I soon as I saw it, I knew exactly who it belonged to. In that moment, I had to make a decision.

For a split second, I hesitated. I was in the zone. I was in the middle of getting into this whole training for a race thing. Oh and did I mention I was just trying to not die? So I had a lot going on. I knew that returning that giraffe was going to mean more steps and sweat drops for me. But then I thought about all of those pictures I’ve seen of babies clutching those little giraffes. Yeah I know that baby couldn’t talk. I think she would have known something was missing.

So with the little energy I had left, I picked up that giraffe and raced it to them. She obviously had no idea it had dropped and was super thankful for it. Honestly, it put a little pep in my step for the rest of my run. I mean I was still dying, but it was more fun!

The point is as magical as it is to help others, it usually requires extra work from us. Maybe not literal blood, sweat, and tears work, but usually it’s inconvenient. Often times, we can do a pretty good job talking ourselves out of it too. But the rewards for doing the right thing go beyond what we may even expect. We hope that whoever we are helping is thankful for what we did, but so many times, they are not the only people that benefit. It really does feel good to know that you made someone’s day a little better. Because to you, it might be just some rubber giraffe. But to them, it could mean everything!