It's No Accident

Today I learned a good lesson in Hakarat Hatov. My day started out okay and got progressively worse. By the time I got home, I was feeling like just going to sleep. As I closed my van door I heard a man calling me. He was driving by my block and had stopped. I assumed that he needed directions. He told me that he knew that I wouldn't remember him (which I didn't) but that his wife and baby had been in a car accident in front of my house three years ago, and that they were doing great, and that he just wanted to thank me again for my kindness on that day. We wished eachother a ktivah vchatimah tovah and he was off. The interaction probably was about three minutes, but I cannot begin to express how my mood was lifted. It is so easy to give hakarat hatov to someone and it can make all of the difference in their day, week, and possibly even life. I will try to keep that thought with me as I go into the yamim noraim. Wishing everyone a ktivah vchatimah tovah.