Generosity & Friendship: Why We Should All Be More Like My Friend Carol by Dawn Taylor

Recently, I had plans to chill with my friend Carol. And still chilling in my fridge was a bottle of wine she had brought over months earlier. Our plan was just to hang out and catch up, a break from being busy, working moms. Our lives are very different: I am a struggling single mother and she a tenured teacher married to a lawyer.

Carol messaged me to ask what she could bring, and I told her I made my famous salsa and had plenty of chips for dipping. I didn't know what else to suggest, and said she didn't need to bring anything. Carol, though, is not the type to come over empty handed. She said she had an idea and I didn't give it much thought, figuring she planned to grab dessert.

She took longer than normal to arrive, but I was busy in the kitchen getting the salsa and chips into bowls and tidying up the typical kitchen mess that comes with making homemade salsa. When the doorbell rang I asked my girls to let Carol in. I could hear the front door opening and closing and wondered why. I went to investigate and what I saw was surprising.

When my girls had answered the door, they told me later, Carol asked if they were feeling strong. They followed Carol to her minivan and she started handing them bag after bag of groceries. We were all very confused about this "delivery."

Carol's idea when she didn't know what to bring was to fill my fridge and cupboards with enough food for a few weeks. We were never starving. I always managed somehow, but sometimes barely. Carol thought nothing of this act of generosity, and to see the joy she had in unpacking so much food for a family she knew had gone through some very hard times was truly amazing. My daughters saw this act of kindness and I am so grateful they witnessed this. What a lesson for them.

She could have brought flowers or another bottle of wine, or anything really. But she instead wanted to make a difference, and this is something I wish more people would do. There are many families who struggle, and how nice if we would try to help others without them ever having to ask. People who struggle are often too embarrassed to ask for anything, and by doing something for them, however small, could mean a world of difference in their day and lives.

So, be more like Carol.

P.S. She brought dessert, too! 

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