It Would Be My Pleasure

I'm a people pleaser. I have been for as long as I can remember. Whether the task or favor be big or small, if I can help someone in some way ill do it. I believe it's in connection to my empathetic qualities.

A couple of years ago I was at a concert in a small venue. It was crowded and warm inside. There were two young ladies in front of me on the floor, glistening with sweat from dancing and jumping around. One of the girls was fixing her hair to get it out of her face when her only hair elastic snapped around her fingers and broke. She looked at her friend with a frown while trying to tie it back together. Knowing I had a hair elastic around my wrist I wasn't using: I figured it would be more of a benefit to her. I gave the young lady a tap on the shoulder and handed her the hair elastic. The excitement in her eyes as she said,

"Oh my Gosh, thank you so much!"

as she put her hand on her heart made me smile. Although it was so loud in there, we were reading lips and body language- at least now she didn't have to worry about that broken elastic and her hair sticking to her face.

That dreaded tire pressure light popping up on your dashboard is never a cause for celebration. Thankfully I had enough quarters and knew which tire it was. A dollar and fifty cents for about three minutes of air time were excessive for what I needed. I noticed there was a guy behind me waiting to put some air in his tires. I handed him the air hose when I was done and said, "I only needed it for one tire, I'd hate to waste the money." He looked at me and said, "are you sure?" I nodded and proceeded to tell him it wouldn't make sense for him to add more money if there were still two minutes left to use. He was very grateful that I pretty much just paid for him to fill his tires.

I feed off others' happiness, especially when I know I had some part in making them feel that way- even if it's the tiniest bit of involvement. I will never forget road-tripping it down to New Orleans with a local church group I had been a part of growing up. We had made the trip twice within a few years because we enjoyed it so much. The first trek was made about two years after Hurricane Katrina hit. Even after two years, there was still so much devastation and abandoned buildings. Many families had not yet returned to their homes to rebuild. The areas that suffered the worst from the hurricane and the breaking of the levee were some of the poorest. Concrete slabs were all that was left in the 9th ward, which is where the levee crumbled. I remember all of the emotions that I felt seeing this and talking to locals who had returned or continued to stay. Houses that remained intact suffered a great deal of water damage and became infested with mold.

Our mission there as a group was to help in the rebuilding process. For that week we would split up and go to different job sites to rebuild and tear down. It was hot. If I remember correctly, it was 90 plus degrees every day. I'll never forget this woman whose house we gutted. Her name was Ingrid. She had a rottweiler who was the sweetest boy and loved all the attention. Ingrid had been living on her property in a FEMA trailer. She kept it nice and cool in there and allowed us to sit down in it for a bit to cool off and get out of the sun. Ingrid was so grateful and welcoming to our group of strangers. I was amazed she mentioned that she had been receiving little to no help from FEMA and that there was even a time limit until they would come and take the trailers back. It felt good to know that we were making a difference and providing her with a genuine company. In many ways, it felt and looked as though the victims who were the result of Hurricane Katrina were forgotten about, so it was a good feeling to show them that good people still exist in the world in a time of need who expect nothing in return. It's an experience I would never forget.