Paying it forward for Thanksgiving,

So here is my experience of “Paying it forward”…., My experience was unique. I decided first thing Saturday morning to “Pay it forward” in the grocery store that I have been shopping at for the past 4 years. When I purchased my groceries, I bought a $25.00 gift card, and walked over to the store manager. Now maybe it was my “look” since I was in my Saturday clothes, which consist of “well worn Windsor hooded sweatshirt, sweatpants, and maybe my hairdo was looking too much like “bedhead”…however, the reaction to giving a gift was priceless. As I greeted the store manager, I explained that I wanted to start “paying it forward in Windsor” what this meant was that I would love for him to give the $25.00 gift card to one of his employees. He looked at me, and shook his head, “I don’t know if I can do that?” This is the point I thought maybe he thinks I was the one that needed the cash given my appearance! However, I didn’t give up, ….Since I too have been in management for 2 decades, I quickly thought, well maybe he did not know what employee to choose. Therefore, I offered “Just put all of your employee names in a hat, and draw one out, I further explained that I had shopped here for over 4 years, and loved the service, and the friendliness of the staff, and really wanted to thank them. After a few minutes, he took the card. I walked away, thinking, maybe no one has ever “Thanked him” for the work, he does.
Therefore, this week, I would encourage all of us to express our gratitude to someone in our community. After reflecting on my gift card experience, I wonder, if we are not accustomed to being “thanked”… I realized that I too go through the week, month, and year not spending enough time expressing my gratitude.