Had a very productful day yesterday! I got my shopping done at Wal-Mart, Fed-Exed Ben's travel voucher, mailed a birthday gift to Rosemarie's son, Bryan, baked bread, made spaghetti and even did a good deed!!!

When I pulled up to the Wal-Mart parking lot, I noticed in the cart corrall that there was a cart that had a bag on the bottom. I thought at first that perhaps someone had purchased the bag inside and forgot to load it into their car. I go up to the car and upon further inspection, I realize that it was not a new bag, but rather someone's personal bag. I start to go through the bag looking for identification to return it to the owner, when I see diapers, cream, a bottle, the usual paraphenalia that comes in a diaper bag. On the side of the bag, I notice a piece of plastic. I pull it out and it's the baby's immunization record since his birth. Inside the pocket of this plastic is his medical card as well.

The immunization record has his name and his parents name on it. At first I thought of looking in the phone book. (Wouldn't you know that the parent's last name is Johnson!) I find a number and call. The gentleman who answered the phone explained that his children are all grown so the diaper bag definitely does not belong to him. I apologize for disturbing him and hang up the payphone.

Plan B. I look on the medical card and there is a 1-800 number for customer service. After 5 menus and pressing various buttons to select the correct prompt, I finally get ahold of a real person. I spoke to a lady by the name of Lita. I explain to her that I have someone's diaper bag and the baby's immunization record is in there as well. The only other identification in the bag was the medical card. She agrees to call the husband at work or at home and give him the payphone number at Wal-Mart to arrange to get his diaper bag. He calls 10 minutes later. We arrange to meet at the customer service desk.

20 minutes later, his wife comes up to me and asks if I am Michele. I say that I am. I give her the diaper bag. She thanks me and says that she didn't even realize that the bag was missing. She seemed nice enough, though. She thanked me again and we went our separate ways.

Prior to the Diaper Bag Incident, I was having a lousy day. Not for any particular reason, I just felt blah. (leftover PMS?!?) After returning the diaper bag to Mrs. Johnson, I felt like I was on cloud nine. It's amazing how much better one can feel after doing something really nice for another human being. My mood carried me through the rest of the day and into the evening. I even enjoyed my Tae-bo class that much more!

It's a wonderful feeling to spread kindness and joy.

Thought Of The Day: "Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile."--Sir Wilfred Grenfell

Until next time...peace, love & HEALTH!!!