So, I was at work hosting probably what will be my last birthday party that I host there, unless I come back for a break. And the first birthday party that I hosted that night, it wasn’t going that well because the fire alarm got pulled. And there was just some air of sadness to the party. Like, I couldn’t figure out what it was, but I was trying to smile and make everything be perfect. But clearly because of the whole fire alarm thing, it wasn’t going to be.
And at the end of the party, I offered to help the birthday boy’s father carry some bags out to his car ’cause that’s just something that I do for all the parties that I host. So, this time the dad said, “Yes,” when normally the parents say no. So I was carrying all the gifts out to the car, and the birthday boy’s dad said, “Thank you for making this the most special birthday party ever.” And I said, “I’m just trying to do my job. I’m sorry about the whole fire alarm thing.”
And he says, “I don’t really think you get it. My son was a twin, and his brother unexpectedly died. And this is his first birthday by himself.” And the thing that made it really special is, apparently, the boy’s twin brother had the same name that I do. And the dad said that me being there made it feel like his son who had passed on was with them. And even though I really didn’t do anything at all to make this party as special as it was for them, it was just like my existence and my presence and trying to bring light into it without knowing the good that I was doing that made it extra special.
And, I mean, that party did not give me a tip, but I feel like the impact that I was able to have on that family was just as important, if not more important, than any extra five dollars could’ve gotten me. So, yeah, sometimes you impact people in ways that you can never expect.