There have been a couple of incidents recently that have left me feeling overwhelmed in the best possible way.
The first came from my local garage which I have used for the last eight years or so. Mechanics to me are like hairdressers – find one you trust and stick to them. Mine have always found time to sort out last minute car issues (usually flat tyres) and often do small jobs for free – excellent customer service.
So what was different this week? I took the car in with yet another flat tyre (or at least that’s what the onboard computer was saying) only to find I had two cracked wheels instead. My car may look pretty with those alloy wheels, but they come at a price of constantly having tyre issues. So this news was yet another head in hands moment at the thought of the cost.
My mechanic promised to look for a set of wheels to replace the pesky alloys. Luckily for me, I had recently received a letter from the Inland Revenue stating I was due a hefty tax rebate – so it looked like it was going straight to the garage, it would not be ‘passing go or collecting £200’.
Booking the car in I enquired as to the price – no charge! I won’t bore you with the explanation, but it warranted a bottle of fizz to celebrate.
Next up was another potentially stressful situation, new neighbours. I was only on nodding terms with my old neighbour, not because I am particularly anti-social but because she hated dogs and I own one.
When I moved in, let’s say I was never going to make it on to her Christmas card list, but we did develop a mutual respect for each other’s space.
So, this week a new neighbour moved in and my heart sank a little as I share a joint wall and they have access through my garden. The new neighbour is in his thirties, and I started to imagine noise and inconsiderate behaviour (yes, yes, I know I’m generalising). But how wrong was I. His first act was to introduce himself with a big smile and make a fuss of the dog.
‘Then he did what all single women love a man to do – Without asking, he brought my bins up from the street and put them back in precisely the correct location’
Then he did what all single women love a man to do – without asking he brought my bins up from the street and put them back in precisely the correct location.
Today he exceeded himself by bringing round (on a plate with a cake fork, no less) a fantastic brownie to say ‘thank you’ for letting his gardener have all-day access through my garden and he even tidied after him. I feel the need to congratulate his mum on his upbringing, great manners and he even knows his cutlery.
It was a small, but wonderful gesture of kindness, which almost brought me to tears. If bad things come in threes, this week proved that good things could come in threes, too.
