(My eight-year-old daughter and I are approached by the local radio station reps to see if we want to take part in a competition where the first couple to get 3 questions right wins a voucher for one of the shops in the shopping centre. We’re in no hurry and are pitted against a young couple (early twenties) who are tourists to the city. Not surprisingly, we lose and carry on shopping for some new clothes for my daughter. We are waiting in line to pay for a dress when we notice in the queue behind us the couple that won.)

Me: “Congratulations! What did you win?”

Gentleman: “Thanks! We won a £20 voucher for this store.”

Lady: “We saw they had an offer on [Comedy Show] DVDs so we decided to buy them as a treat.”

Daughter: “I love that show! [Main Character] is very funny!”

Gentleman: “What are you buying today?”

Daughter: “My mom promised I could have a new dress if I was really good this week as I’ve grown out of my old party dress.”

(The couple look at each other and smile.)

Gentleman: “You know what? If you’ve been such a good girl I think you should have this voucher to buy a pretty dress.” *hands her the voucher*

Daughter: “Thank you so much!”

Me: “Oh, my goodness, you don’t have to do that.”

Lady: “We insist. We were only buying these DVDs for the sake of it and I think making your daughter happy after being so polite would be the right thing to do.”

(They promptly drop the DVDs back on the shelf and leave the store, leaving me standing there stunned. Thank you, young couple! My daughter kept the pouch the voucher came in for her scrapbook to remind her how awesome people can be.)

(My friend and I are on vacation in St. Louis. I am originally from a Denver suburb, while she is from southern New Mexico, which is a desert with no ‘suburban’ grass.)

Friend: *points out the window of the bus* “Okay, you probably know… Why does grass do that?”

Me: “Do what? You mean why does it have those lines?”

Friend: “Yeah.”

Me: “Um… because that’s how it’s mowed. It’s mowed in the same pattern every time.”

Friend: “Oh. That’s so weird.”

(It never occurred to me that there is no grass in the desert!)

(I have just moved to a new apartment within walking distance of the salon where my friend from church works. She volunteers to come over for an hour and help me unpack. I’m very grateful and after some deliberation, we decide to tackle my clothes boxes. She is an extremely stylish person who has given me courage to do things like get a pixie cut and color my hair darker and always makes me look amazing. We’ve gotten through my Sunday dresses and skirts while she pointed out ones that made me look skinnier or ones that I should wear more often. Then we get to my geeky t-shirts…)

Friend: “I had no idea your wardrobe was so cool!”

Me: “Thanks!”

Friend: “Why don’t I see you wear this stuff?”

Me: “Because we mostly see each other on Sunday and I wouldn’t wear a Yoda shirt to sacrament meeting?”

Friend: “That makes perfect sense in hindsight.”

(It’s Roommate #1’s turn to decide what to watch on television. He wants to watch the president’s speech. Roommate #2 is very snarky when it comes to politicians, whatever party they happen to be in. Earlier, Roommate #2 and I were talking about the sycophant problem in political parties.)

Roommate #2: “Who’s that white-haired butt-puppet sitting behind him nodding at everything he says?”

Roommate #1: “That’s our vice president…”

(I am five years old. I am at a friend’s house. My friend decides that she wanted a snack.)

Friend: “Hey, [My Name], do you want a brownie?”

Me: “No, thanks. I ate before I came over.”

Friend: “I really want one, but I don’t want to eat one alone.”

Me: “No, just have one without me. I’m fine.”

Friend: “Please?”

Me: “Fine, I guess.”

Friend: *calling down the stairs* “MOOOOOOM, [My Name] WANTS A BROWNIE!”

Me: “… SERIOUSLY?!”

(Her mom ended up making brownies for us. It’s been 16 years since then, and my friend, her mom, and I still joke about that.)