January 14, 2020

Having grown up in the South, I took for granted what everyone says about it...

that the South is the friendliest region of this country.

I have loved every single place we've lived, for different reasons,

but one of my favorite reasons is having learned that there are kind people everywhere.

Nowhere was that more evident than Golden, Colorado.

More than one person in that quaint little town said to us upon learning we had just moved there,

"We're glad you're here!"

No one had ever said that to us before, anywhere, and it was almost overwhelming.

The next four years only reinforced that sense of welcoming neighborliness.

The Golden Visitor's Center creates a Christmas ornament every year.

Our neighbors across the street gave us the 2016 ornament at the end of our first full year in Golden.

(We had moved to town the end of 2015)

I was heartbroken to discover the other day that I had broken that ornament,

and I immediately called the Golden Visitor's Center to see if they had any extras from that year.

To my great relief, they did.

To my great amazement, not only did the volunteer offer to send me the ornament on his own,

(the Visitor's Center doesn't ship)

he also offered to do it completely gratis.

I actually thought I would cry, his kindness was so touching.

(but I'm sending him a check)

Now for an interesting twist to the story....

the day I called the Visitor's Center, I was in Wal-Mart early that morning buying groceries.

I had one of the worst experiences with a cashier I've ever had in my life last month at W-M,

and I was not looking forward to this trip.

To my great delight, the cashier checking me out that day was pleasant and chatty,

as was the shopper in line behind me.

We got to talking about snow and I mentioned how much I missed it after living in CO for the last 4 years.

As I was leaving, I said good-bye to both of these pleasant ladies, and the shopper behind me said,

"We're glad you're back!"

There truly are kind people everywhere.

So I received the replacement ornament today...

this is what it was packed in:

My neighbors down the street have a dog that I don't have the best of relationships with

and I've been wanting to remedy that if I can, so last week

- during the Wal-Mart shopping trip I already mentioned -
I bought dog treats in case I meet this pooch while out walking with my next-door neighbor.

How weird is it that I haven't bought dog treats in 17 years until last week 

and now I have a jar to keep them in?

 And as if that wasn't enough,
this lightweight backpack was the packing material for the ornament!

 Thanks to Jim at the Golden Visitor's Center,
for taking time out of his day to ship me an ornament,
for packing it in a doggie treat jar,
for padding it with a Golden backpack,
and most of all,
for just being kind.