Just call me Miss Merry Sunshine

Yesterday morning I allowed for a little extra time to stop for coffee on my way to school. It was a Friday at the end of a long week and I wanted a hazelnut latte.

So I turned into the sprawling parking lot that houses a Walgreens, a strip mall, and my favorite little espresso stand, the one I discovered in the weeks before my first year of teaching back in 2001, the one with my favorite baristas, the one where I discovered the black-and-white mochas that sustained me through my overcrowded sophomore class at the end of the day. (Back then, I lived much closer to school, and I used to run home on my lunch break to let my still potty-training puppy out.) And a lady driving a huge SUV cut me off. She tossed me a little wave and raced to the espresso stand. Whatever, I thought, someone seems to really need her coffee this morning. Shrug. I didn't really think twice about it.

But when I finally pulled up to the window, the barista said, "That lady felt so terrible about cutting you off that she paid for your coffee. Actually, she left enough money to get whatever you want -- like coffee and breakfast."

I was a little dumbfounded -- her "cutting me off" didn't seem particularly aggressive to me, but then, I was having a pretty chill morning.

"Wow," I kept saying. "That's so nice!"

I ordered my coffee, and the barista talked me into some biscotti. I hadn't planned on having anything to eat, but she said, "This is a great time to try something!"

"I really want to keep this going," I said. "But there's no one in line! I could leave some money for the next person..."

"You know, just take it and enjoy it today," the barista said. "You can pass it along next time you're in a line."

It made my morning. This happened to me at Starbucks once last year; the person in front of me paid for my drink for no reason at all, and I happily paid for the person behind me. I hope it kept going; the line is always long at Starbucks, and it must be kind of fun to work there and get to tell a bunch of people, "Your coffee is already paid for." I just have this idea that sending all these happily surprised people -- some of whom might have really needed a little boost -- on their way is somehow really good for the world.

When I got to school, I told my junior class all about it. And then I told them their homework for the weekend is to do something kind for someone else, for absolutely no reason at all. Bonus points (BUT NOT REALLY, NO, YOU DO NOT GET EXTRA CREDIT YOU LITTLE GRADE-GRUBBERS) if the person doesn't actually know you. They don't need to thank you to your face, I said, but do something to put a smile on theirs. Pay it forward, right?

And if you're reading this, do the same thing. You don't necessarily have to pay for someone's coffee in a drive-thru line (although that's such an easy way to do this, and the chances of keeping it going are pretty good), but do something unexpected and kind and good for the world.