Tina looked out the window and sighed. Heavy clouds hung over the sky like a cold, wet blanket. She checked the weather on her phone and confirmed her suspicions, the entire day would be mostly cloudy.
Just when she was about to put her phone away, it rang.
“Tina, hey, happy birthday,” Angela said in her hoarse morning voice.
“What’s going on?” Tina ask, already knowing the answer.
“We’re so sorry,” Angela said. “I think we have to cancel sunbathing today, as it’s very cloudy. I’m not feeling so well, and Iva just had something come up. Natalie says it’s too cold, and you know she catches every cold and flu that comes around.”
“Of course,” Tina said without much emotion. “I should have guessed.”
“We’re so sorry,” Angela said again. “Let us know if you do decide to do something in the evening, we may be able to make it.”
“Yeah, sure,” Tina said. “I probably won’t be going anywhere in this weather. Hope you feel better soon, Angela.”
“Thanks!” Angela said brightly and hung up.
Tina hated how much the seasons affect her moods. When the sun was shining, she was bright and cheerful like Angela. But on a dreary, cloudy day like today, she found herself moping around her apartment, not getting much done at all besides holding a silly grudge against her friends for making her spend this birthday alone. For the next hour, Tina found herself scrolling on her phone, looking at friends’ parenting pictures and feeling behind in life. She then put on a playlist of mellow, moody music. As the melody alternated between high and low notes, Tina allowed her mind to ruminate over all the activities she could not do when the sun was behind clouds. She gradually drifted off to sleep.
Tina started awake when she heard her dog Eager barking for his breakfast. Her mom was also calling, for her phone was ringing with her mom’s infamous ringtone—a recording of her mom singing “Mom is calling you”. Tina determined that one of her to-do list items today would be to change her mom’s ringtone, which has turned heads at the office for more times than she could count.
“Hi sweetheart,” her mom said in her most cheery, singsong voice. “Happy Birthday! How is sunbathing?”
“You know there’s no sun, mom,” Tina said, a little frustrated. “It was canceled, nobody except I could make it. Not even the sun made it.”
Tina’s mom laughed. “Well, your dad and I are thinking of taking you to lunch. Can you make it?”
Tina hesitated. Lunch with her parents was not on her schedule today, and going out in such weather felt to her like pulling teeth. She also knew that her mom had more in mind than just taking her out to lunch. Yet, she really had nothing planned, and doing something with her parents was better than doing nothing at all.
“Well, honey, I thought it would be good for you and Eager to visit the homeless shelter with me afterward,” mom added. “It is always more blessed to give than to receive. Also, greeting the less fortunate would be a good experience for Eager.”
But who’s giving me _my gift? Tina thought to herself. Out loud, though, she said to her mom, “Sure, mom, let’s do it!”
After hanging up, Tina quickly took Eager out and fed him. “You’ll have an important mission, buddy,” she said to Eager as he gobbled up his breakfast. “We’re feeding the hungry.”
In less than 20 minutes, Tina’s parents were pulling up to her driveway. Eager thumped his tail and pawed the door as her parents walked up and called through the door, “Happy birthday, sweetheart!” Tina’s mom and dad each gave her a hug.
Although Tina expected that her mom would be bringing food and clothing for the homeless, she was still shocked by the mountains of shirts, dresses, and lunch boxes stacked in the trunk and on the back seat. She barely had room to squeeze herself onto the seat, and Eager curled himself into a tight ball on the floor.
Since retirement, Tina’s mom had been filling her days with charity work and serving at church. Tina and her brother knew to book time months in advance in order to celebrate her mom’s birthday. It was just like her mom to commemorate special occasions for the family, like Tina’s birthday, with charity work.
“Where would you like to go?” Tina’s dad asked as he started the car.
“Dad, you know I go to the same Italian restaurant every year,” Tina said.
“Yes, you have always prefer the familiar,” her dad said. “Why don’t my mom and I surprise you this year?”
“You know how I feel about surprises, dad. Remember the last time you tried to throw me a surprise party? You blind-folded me and we went to the restaurant, but it was closed.”
“Honey, that was ten years ago. Anyway, we’ll do whatever you want, it’s your birthday. Let’s go to the pizzeria.”
Tina and her parents sat at the same table they have always sat at since Tina started naming this restaurant to be her birthday go-to. They also ordered the same three dishes, eggplant parmesan, Hawaiian pizza, and seafood angel hair pasta. Everything tasted exactly as Tina expected them to taste, and she was happy. She wanted the moment to last as long as possible, before she was thrown into what she expected to be the chaos of the shelter. However, at one point the bill was paid, and they were off.
When they reached the shelter, Eager was the first to get out of the car. After stretching himself, Eager ran straight toward a yellow Labrador on the other side of the parking lot, dragging his leash behind him. He ignored all of Tina’s pleas for him to come back. Tina became even more embarrassed when she saw that the other dog was wearing a guide dog harness. “I’m so sorry,” she called to the guide dog handler as she ran after Eager.
“What is your dog’s name?” the handler asked, taking hold of Eager’s leash and commanding him to sit.
“This is Eager, and I am Tina,” Tina said, breathless.
“I am Andrea, and my guide here is Path,” the handler said. “Have you come to help pass out food to the homeless?”
“Yes, my mom bought tons of clothes too. Do you need any help getting to a station?”
“Yes please, and I would love it if we could partner together.”
“Of course,” Tina replied. She thought it would be wise to partner with someone more experienced in serving the homeless than herself.
Tina walked in front of Andrea with Eager, calling out directions as they walked toward one of the food stations. She saw that her mom was greeting everyone warmly, while dragging a mountain of clothes behind her. Her dad was holding a teetering stack of lunch boxes in his arms, and Tina felt nervous just watching him.
When they reached the station, Andrea expertly went behind the counter and took out a few bags of groceries. Then, she asked Tina to guide her while they passed out groceries and talked with other people. Tina found an older couple and Andrea offered them a bag of groceries. Each of them was holding a lunch box from Tina’s mom.
“Hey Andrea,” the woman said, “Good to see you. And are you Laura’s daughter?” she turned and asked Tina.
“Yes,” Tina said.
“Well, I just want you to know,” the man picked up, “that your mom makes the best sandwiches. That’s why I come here every Saturday!”
“James and Alyson used to be volunteer puppy raisers for guide dogs,” Andrea added, “before they lost their home. In fact, they raised my Path’s dad Duty.”
Tina felt a wave of compassion wash over her as she looked at the gaunt pair. Rmelessness can happen to anyone, she thought, even the kindest people.
After bidding the couple goodbye, Tina and Andrea continued to pass out bags of groceries. They talked to single mothers, young men and women who were couch surfers, former business owners and engineers, and a few children.
Then, somebody bumped into Tina, and Eager barked. His leash was snatched from Tina’s hand, and Tina was pushed and fell. Before Tina could recover, the person picked up Eager and ran.
“Hey!” shouted Tina indignantly. “Give him back!”
Andrea gave Path a command, and the guide dog team was off after the thief. As Andrea ran with Path, she kept shouting, “Stop him! Stop him!”
Who was this man, and why did he take Eager? These were the questions swimming inside Tina’s head, but she had no time to answer them. She ran on, shouting Eager’s name, ignoring the pain in her calves and the hoarseness in her voice. FINALLY, Andrea caught up to Eager and the thief, and she squirted something that made the man rub his eyes vigorously. Eager broke free from his grasp and ran toward Tina. Tina gave him a huge hug.
Someone must have called the police, for two cop cars pulled up and the thief was arrested. Before he got into the police vehicle, Tina got a chance to look at his face. This was Nimrod, who used to pull Tina’s hair and steal her hair ties when she was in elementary school. Tina hated him then, but now all she felt for him was sadness. The only way Nimrod chose to live was by destroying the happiness of others, and his philosophy has led him to homelessness and encounters with the police.
In late afternoon, as Tina walked back with Andrea, Path, and Eager, she felt a mixture of both fear and gratitude. From talking with the homeless to nearly losing her own dog, she learned that misfortune could happen to anyone.
When Tina and Andrea returned to the food station, Tina was surprised to see many streamers and balloons flying about. On one table someone has placed a large birthday cake. “Whose birthday are we celebrating?” she asked Andrea.
“yours! Happy birthday Tina!” After she said this, the whole shelter started singing “Happy Birthday”, and Tina’s face was flushed red.
“Oh, thank you, everyone! You really didn’t have to do this,” she said when she was asked to give a speech. “Mom was right, it is far better to give than to receive. I wasn’t sure if I even wanted to get out of my apartment this morning, but coming here to volunteer has made this the most unexpected and meaningful birthday in my life!” To this the crowd cheered.
When Tina got home, she realized that she no longer needed to play mellow music or mope around the house. Instead, she started rummaging through her pantry to find what she could cook, because she was going to make dinner for her best friends Angela, Iva, Natalie, and Andrea.