I was on a mission this morning. Having a list full of errands to accomplish in only a short time, I raced into the grocery store, huffing and puffing down each and every aisle. Grabbing my change from the checkout person, barely looking up, I ran back toward the parking lot.
“Excuse me, lady?” came a somewhat slurred voice. “Would you like to support our Friendship Cove (not the real name) Program?” I stopped to look up and there was a young woman with Down Syndrome seated at a table with a little tin can in front of her. She appeared to be in her 20’s with a crooked smile that revealed all her teeth and gums.
“Sure, I’d be glad to, ” I replied as I threw a dollar bill into the bucket that seemed to so far only have a few coins in the bottom.
“Wow!” she squealed, “thank you So much! You should have one of my friendship pins! They are really beautiful!”
“Did you make them yourself?” I asked her as she so proudly showed me her selection of pins to choose from. (Her handmade “friendship pins” were safety pins that had 3 plastic beads on them.)
“Take more than one, ” she suggested, “you have more than one friend don’t you? You could give one to all of your friends!”
“Wow! Thank you So much”, I replied.
Based on all I learned from that brief encounter, I’d say that dollar was money well spent.
