As a continuation of the previous post, I was at Starbucks getting a few moments of peace from a crazy hectic day (which just happened to also be my 41st birthday). I used my registered Starbucks gift card to receive a free drink of my choice (God bless the person who decided salt, caramel, and coffee would make a good drink combination – pure heaven for me!) After ordering my drink, I handed the barista a sealed envelope which contained a note and a $5 bill to allow a complete stranger to enjoy a free tall pumpkin spice latte on me in celebration of my birthday and to honor the memory of Alyssa O’Neill.
As the barista passed my drink across the counter, I gathered my purse then looked up to see him reaching into the pastry display case and placing something in a to-go bag. As I started to walk away, he handed the bag to me stating simply, “Your birthday cake! Enjoy!”
WHAT?!?! Did I just get RAK’d by a barista?! No way!! All I could do was laugh at the joyous surprise by such a sweet, kind gesture. “Really? For me?” He grinned from ear to ear (such an infectious smile!) as the other barista chimed in from the other end of the counter with “Happy Birthday!” greetings.
It was a priceless moment that literally was the icing on my cake.
I frantically dug through my purse trying to find my RAK business cards as I knew this was worthy of one of my #26acts. Did it matter that it was a RAK received instead of given? Absolutely not! A RAK is a RAK no matter the type! 🙂
So I found a card I was saving for Avielle Richman, age 6, and explained to the barista that he actually completed my #23 random act of kindness. I had seen a video clip showing Avielle’s parents talking about their daughter’s infectious smile and knew this RAK belonged to him because his smile matched hers. I’m hoping that he will visit this website and see that he is part of an amazing journey to remember those sweet children lost from Sandy Hook Elementary. Here is the barista with my business card:
What joy! Such a simple act of kindness, yet so powerful. So important. So meaningful. A true blessing indeed.
It wasn’t until I was back in my car that I opened my to-go bag and saw what delicacy he had chosen for me to enjoy. A beautiful pink cake pop with tiny white sprinkles, molded firmly to a solid white stick made to look like a delicate lollipop. I almost cried at the pureness of the moment. My birthday cake indeed.
Thanks to Starbucks for offering free birthday coffees to pay it forward with kindness and for hiring such kind-hearted baristas who take opportunities to make a difference in someone else’s life. My day may have started off as a hot mess, but it ended in peace and joy.
Be blessed my friends! Thank you for sharing in my first complete year of blessing others with deliberate acts of kindness!
Hey, this is the barista in that picture. I just wanted to let you know that I did see this, and you were someone that completely made my week. This is a great thing you’re doing and I’m glad to see that I brightened your day as much as you brightened mine and the customer who got her free pumpkin spice latte from you 🙂
I hope you continue to spread this cheer to others and have it all return to you!