He was smiling knowingly when he asked the fateful question...
My brain went into to hyperdrive as I tried to trace his face. My photographic memory was definitely out of film; I couldn't think of where in the world I would have seen this guy, let alone remember his name. I was visiting Nebraska and was attending an extended family birthday party, and I knew this wasn't a relative. At a loss for words, I had to say something...
"I'm so sorry, have I met you recently?
"No it's been a long time. You were seven years old."
I breathed a sigh of relief. There was no way anyone expected me to remember someone I must have met somewhere close to seventeen years ago.
I smiled and asked him name - Mark. Still not ringing bells, but then he went on to explain.
"A long time ago your uncle had a family reunion at his house and I dropped by to see what the party was all about. You were walking with your uncle and came upon me in the driveway. You extended your hand and revealed a simple crocheted bracelet and simply stated 'here, this is for you.'
He lifted up his arm right there and pulled back his sleeve. There on his wrist was a pale, sea green, crocheted bracelet. My mouth dropped open.
"Are you kidding me?" It was all I could think to say.
His answer was simple.
"This is the same bracelet, I still have it. In fact, I was having a bad day when you gave me this little bracelet; it completely cheered me up and the impact has stayed with me for years."
What are the odds?
My aunt had mentioned that I was in town from PA and would be at the birthday party, so he pulled a 17-year-old chain-crocheted bracelet from his dresser and put it on to tell the story. I was seven years old, and had just learned to chain yarn in hopes of being able to crochet cool things one day. It wasn't expensive, time-consuming or all that beautiful, but it had touched a human heart.
I was so blessed as he told this short story, but I was mostly struck by this simple fact:
Never, ever underestimate the impact of a simple act of love.
