Meme Cheater Here

I like the premise of this week's Ten on Tuesday (and I thoroughly enjoyed reading about Peter's "10 Nice Things" over at Corner Kick). But, as usual, I'm late to the game (you know, 10 PM - 1 AM seems to be my ideal writing time, and everyone else is sleeping). So even though I'm not an official player, I'll post my 10 here for all of you to read anyway.

10 Nice Things People Have Done For Me Lately...

1. My friend Ch@ndy arranged for a totally cool girls weekend when I went to visit her a few weeks ago. I've mentioned the complementary professional waxing, but what I didn't mention is that she did some special grocery shopping for my picky eater JG, and that way we didn't have to hear JG complaining about food all weekend long. That was a blessing!

2. & 3. When I moved last December, my dear friends Molly and Jeff Nemechek arranged and provided the man power on the day that we had to load the truck. Poetroad, if you remember, was already in Texas, so Molly called around and assembled a work crew, and Jeff helped take charge on moving day. Our other dear friends, Rocky and Christy Wing, stayed after everyone left and helped me stack the truck to the ceiling. Rocky had to bust out some pretty fancy climbing moves, but he helped me make sure that every possible inch of space in the truck was utilized.

4. After the move, a family that is close to our hearts drove over six hours from Louisiana to visit us over Easter weekend - Jon and Sandy Knoedler (with their three daughters and their dog in tow). A visit might not seem like a "nice thing," but fellowship really is the nicest thing a person can offer when you've moved to a new place where you don't know anyone.

5. Back in April, Poetroad and I took a quick jaunt over to the post office in Lakeway in order to mail off our tax payment. I went inside for a few minutes (so I could send it certified mail), and when I came out, the battery on the van was dead. We asked 5-7 people to jump our car (we had the hood up and the cables ready to go), but everyone said "no." It was disheartening! And it was raining! Then a guy from a local bait and tackle shop pulled into the spot next to us, and he was more than happy to help. Literally, it only took two seconds to "git 'er done." The guy didn't even have to turn on his truck! After being stranded for over a half an hour (and hearing the lamest excuses in the world as to why they couldn't help us - such as the lady who said that her BMW "can't do that"), the good 'ol boy was our savior.

6. Two of my new friends, Stefani and Kathryn, took me out to lunch for my birthday. The lunch was nice, but the fellowship was priceless. Particularly when this girl is used to spending every holiday and birthday with extended family.

7. I got lost on the way home to Austin once. Really lost. Out in the middle of nowhere lost. I was so turned around, I would have ended up in Dallas had I continued on the path I thought I should be taking. When I finally saw a gas station, I pulled over and asked the first person I saw for directions back to Austin. Not only did this guy give me great directions, but he said that he was headed that way and that if he saw me make a wrong turn that he would make sure I got back to the correct road - the kindness of a stranger!

8. Two of our other new friends, Jen and Marc, took us to Austin City Limits last month. Although that might not seem like much of a sacrifice since the show is free, understand that in order to get tickets to a show, a person has to spend two days waiting in line to get those tickets (well, a few hours on one day to get a ticket, and a few hours in line the next day to get a number). Marc and Jen knew how much we wanted to go to ACL, and they gladly made the sacrifice. They even spent time with us before and after the show - also nice because they could have been hanging out with their other twenty-something friends rather than hanging out with us.

9.This isn't a recent one, but back before my oldest brother was married, he took Poetroad and I to see Prairie Home Companion - the actual show - at the Schnitzer in Portland. At the time, I hardly ever listened to NPR before that day; I became a lifelong fan after that experience. Spending time with my brother that day - I'll cherish that memory for a long time.

10. A checker at Target gave made my day a few months ago. It was late, the price for a box of diapers wasn't ringing up the same as what was posted, and he didn't want to bother with a price check. So not only did he adjust that item to his "special sale price" (lower than what was posted even), but he adjusted the prices on a few other items as well.

There you have it, my 10 for Tuesday. Like most, I could have gone on and on (I didn't even mention how Anthony fixed something on my blog last month or that he sent me one of his favorite books a few years ago). Nevertheless, this list will do.