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When I first leafed through the ‘suggested deeds’ in the ONE GOOD DEED A DAY journal I thought, “This is going to be cinch! I can easily do one good deed a day for a year. I do a lot of this stuff already!” ‘Become an Organ Donor.’ Check. ‘Volunteer.’ Check-a-roonie. ‘Fill the Printer with Paper so It Won’t Run Out on the Next Person.’ Check the halls with boughs of Holly! I never thought I would have to dig a little deeper on my very first good deed.
Today’s good deed: SHARE A MEAL WITH A FRIEND
About a week ago I found out that a co-worker was a little short on funds. He’s a struggling student/intern who’s making ends meet … but just barely. And as it turns out, I get a meal with every shift I work, but he doesn’t.
Now, people who know me well know that I very rarely finish a meal. My eyes are always bigger than my belly. It’s gotten to the point where male friends now sit next to me at dinner because they know they can indulge in my leftovers. So my offer to split an occasional meal with my struggling co-worker seemed like a perfect idea. Right? Wrong!
He asked me for half of my meal when I was hangry.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the term ‘hangry’: Being ‘hangry’ is when you’re so hungry you become angry. Hangry.
I hadn’t eaten all day. Everything at work was going wrong. My wrap sheets wouldn’t balance out. And that one person in the company that I’m not crazy about kept bugging me. All I wanted to do was finish work so I could eat. I was well beyond hangry. I was ravenous and irritated. I was rirritated. This was when my co-worker chose to take me up on my offer.
A small part of me was mad at him for asking. How dare he ask me for half of my meal?! Couldn’t he see that I was starlivid?!? But then … I checked myself.
Here was a hungry person in front of me. Doing a good deed shouldn’t just be doing something that’s merely convenient. I gave him half of my food.
Later that night my co-worker looked me in the eyes and said, “Thank you.” I was humbled. I was grateful that I had the privilege of eating every day, a fact that I occasionally take for granted. And I was grateful that I could help him eat too. A second colleague gave him half of her meal as well. There was plenty to go around for all of us.
Man. Doing good deeds. This might be tougher than I thought. And more rewarding.
Photo (Flickr CC) by Ian Sane
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Holly Walker
Latest posts by Holly Walker (see all)
- Behind Closed Doors - October 9, 2014
- Shhhhhhhh! - October 8, 2014
- Look Who’s Talking! - October 7, 2014
- The Donor Party - October 6, 2014
- Food To Go - October 5, 2014