“Do the Right Thing”are words to live by—especially at Christmas—and encountering someone who takes these words to heart warms the soul!
Recently, our annual family Christmas shopping trip to Target started out normally: going through the store with the kids’ Christmas lists in hand; loading up the cart with the presents the girls asked for; and getting excited when thinking about looks on their faces when they tear away the wrapping paper. But, my visions of sugarplums burst into thin air when we went to pay for the presents. The money we had saved, the money we had just withdrawn from our bank account, was gone! We immediately began retracing every step of our hour-long shopping trip. We frantically searched up and down every aisle. We paced the parking lot and dug between the seats of the car, but we had no luck.
All I could think was, “What am I going to do on Christmas morning?” I could see my two sweet girls’ faces, and I could not let them down. On a last ditch effort—and I must say, not with a hopeful attitude—I walked over to Guest Services and asked if a Good Samaritan had turned in an envelope full of money. They stopped me mid-sentence and said that I need not to worry. A lady had come to them stating that she had found something (she had not revealed what she’d found to Guest Services) and they should expect a frazzled customer to come running up to their desk. The Good Samaritan left her name and phone number, which I called immediately, and I met her at her home. She greeted me with a smile and a hug and said, “I do believe I have something of yours.”
In the moments that followed, I learned that my Christmas Angel had been to the dentist that very day and was given a HUGE dental bill of $2,800. She said that the money she found would have most definitely put a dent in that expense, but she could not do it. She had to “Do the Right Thing” and live by The Golden Rule. Her chivalrous act, not only gave me a renewed hope in the goodness of people, but also brought to light the very values I strive to follow as a proud Southwest Employee.
Every day, nearly 35,000 of our Fellow Southwest Family Members live by these Core Values: live by The Golden Rule, Do the Right Thing, and have a Servant’s Heart, Fun-LUVing Attitude, and Warrior Spirit. I’m not sure if this Christmas Angel knew it, but it was National Pay It Forward Day. Let’s not wait until next December 1 to show someone else the kindnesses that we have been shown. Let’s all go out and spread a little Christmas Spirit right now!
