An Open Letter to the Coffee Shop Manager Who Touched Our Hearts

It's amazing how a small gesture can impact someone's day, and yours warmed our hearts more than you know.

When my husband and I walked into your coffee shop recently, we were both feeling a bit defeated. It's been a tough few weeks at our house, between the loss of our dog, our own battles with illness, and just life in general. You know how it is, when you feel like you're just going through the motions of your day. On that evening, we'd decided to order take-out for dinner and stopped at your shop for a cup of coffee while our food was prepared.

Your sunny smile and funny conversation about our shared obsession with pumpkin spice cheered us up. But then you reached for that special donut, that you said was 'on you.' You remembered the 'old-fashioneds'  that we ordered for our beloved dog, Gifford, when we'd stop by, so it was hard to tell you that we'd recently lost him to a severe bout of seizures. The tears that jumped to your eyes told us how our boy had impacted you, as he did so many people that met him. Our coffees, you said, were 'no charge,' because you felt so bad for bringing up such a tough subject and because you were so sorry for our loss.

Dear woman, thank you for your generosity, but please don't regret bringing up our boy. We love hearing how others enjoyed his boisterous nature and sweet doggy face, and your story of how you loved seeing him in the car, waiting for his donut, warmed our hearts. He was always so excited to see you because he knew you'd hand him his donut through the window. Thank you for loving Gifford. His endless joy lives on in everyone who knew him.

Your grateful customers,

Cindy and Jim