Enabled By Kindness

(I am a seasonal employee in the Arts and Crafts centre in summer camp in Colorado. I am teaching silk painting, and there is one older, slightly disabled lady that neither of my coworkers could put up with. I help her every day and treat her just the same. It is the end of the last day of her working on her project.)

Lady: *to me* “Can I talk to you?”

Me: “Sure.” *heads over*

Lady: *discreetly presses $5 into my hand* “I know I can be difficult to work with, and you’ve been so nice and so understanding, and made me feel like I was a real artist. You deserve something nice. Go buy a good burger for dinner.”

(I blink and try to hand her money back.)

Me: “I really can’t, ma’am.”

Lady: “Oh, who cares, you deserve it!”

(She came back several days later to give me $5 more! She made my entire summer. I never ended up spending that $10. I have it saved as a memory of one of the nicest customers I’d ever had!)