Gratitude
“Thanks,” he said to me.
“Okay,” I replied, not knowing what he thanked me for. “You’re welcome.” I continued walking.
I didn’t have to go much further when I passed someone else. She called out to me, “Hey, Thanks, Harvey.”
Again, I had no clue what I had done to deserve thanks. I stood there and said, “No problem.”
She continued on her way, leaving me totally befuddled, so I started walking.
Again, I hadn’t gotten very far when I was stopped by someone else. They said, “You’re Harvey, aren’t you? Thank you.” Once said, they left me alone without even waiting for a reply.
Okay, this was getting weird. Three people I may have seen while passing through the halls of the school, and everyone thanked me. I was clueless. What could I have possibly done?
I started making a list in my head.
Had I donated to a cause? No.
Were they connected to any friends of mine? Not that I knew.
Did I help them with a problem in one of the classes I subbed in? I am trying to remember, but I will go with no.
Is this some joke that one of my friends set up? I can think of one friend who would do something like this, but I haven’t seen him in a while.
Could this be National Thank-a-Person Day? If so, why only me? I checked my iPhone, and all I found was National Adoption Day and Mickey Mouse’s birthday.
I gave up and just continued my walk. To my surprise, I passed at least five other people, three of whom thanked me.
Then, I saw one of my good friends, Jeff.
“Hey, Harv, I just finished sharing some of your stories with a bunch of people. I hope you don’t mind. They all said they either knew you or heard of you. You wouldn’t believe when I was done how many commented on how the stories you had shared with them in the past meant so much to them. For many, your stories came just at the right time in their lives to help them through a crisis. They told me to thank you when I next saw you.”
Now, things made sense to me. I know that storytelling is a powerful tool and that, as a teacher, kids won’t usually tell you, “This is the day you are going to reach me.”
That really made my day.
I got a few more “Thanks” during the day, and at least this time, I knew how to respond:
“It was my pleasure. Glad you were there.’
