Well, it's not quite a miracle...more of a blessing. We really wanted a double wall oven for our new kitchen (in stainless steel) and a new one freshly bought from the store was out of the question (we just didn't have it in us to spend $2,500 + on one). So, we resorted to looking on craigslist. After a while Mark decided that the best we could probably do was to find a single wall oven - the kind where the microwave is on top and the oven on the bottom - but I was determined to find a decently priced double wall oven. As I was looking on craigslist yesterday, I found one for $100! The problem was that it needed a new part. The previous owner had a oven fixer mechanic dude come out and he confirmed what he needed...and it was only a $160 part. My thought was this - a relatively new, exactly what we wanted, oven for $260 bucks - what a deal! I convinced Mark it would be well worth the drive to Washington, so off we went! Once there, we looked at it, loved it, and decided it was definitely a steal. The owner gave us all the info she had on the part, cost, where we could buy it, etc, and I handed over my $100. We (actually, her husband and Mark) loaded up in the 'ol Subie and we started to say our goodbyes and thank you's, when she said to me, "We want to give you something...this back." And she handed me my $100 back. My first emotion was probably confusion. I vaguely remember thinking, "Dang! They don't want to sell it anymore!" But she said, "No, we want you to
have it. Use this toward the part, that way it'll only cost you $60 to repair!" I looked at her husband and he was nodding in agreement. Mark and I were pretty much stammering words like "thank you!" and "you're so generous" and "oh my gosh!" and "really?!" and "that is SO kind" for close to 2 minutes. I, of course, started to get choked up and had to stop my blubbering thank you's. There was a little more small talk, more thank you's, and then off we drove with our first blessing of the year in the back.
Can you believe that?! It really makes you think about the whole "pay it forward" concept, and just doing something nice for someone else. On the phone, the lady told me when the part went out her husband told her just to go out and buy a new one; he didn't want to deal with replacing a part. They obviously were able to give this away without any financial strain on them. It makes me think, what can I do to help others - financial strain or not - that would make them be as thankful (and shocked about the level of generosity) as Mark and I were today? I'm not one for New Year resolutions, but I think this year I need to take this question to heart and make this year not only about remodeling our house, but about giving to others (rather than selling) maybe some of the stuff we will no longer need once we remodel (i.e. our current stove, fridge, microwave, etc.). I challenge you all to do the same.
Without further ado, here it is!
(BTW...I have NOT cleaned this up at all, so sorry for the smudges, dust, etc. But there aren't any scratches, dents, etc in it!!)
WOW!!!
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