Karma

One our way to ACS's Making Strides walk,

I found myself perusing CL on my phone

(it was over an hour from home!)

I stumbled across a listing

for an "antique" bedroom set

with horrible pictures

All dark, you couldn't see ANY details

but I could tell from the outline of the headboard, 

it was good...

and the best part?

IT WAS FREE!

I emailed the owner,

and told her to call me if no one else claimed it,

as we were tied up at an event until the afternoon

Around noon, she called...

Lots of people had contacted her,

but none had shown up to claim it...

Nearly every person had a horrible, sob story

about why they needed this set

but they all wanted her to deliver it to them!

"I suspect they were all lying" she said...

 sadly, she is probably right!

We made arrangements to go pick it up...

doing a little happy dance that we had gotten so lucky

On the way over, I started to feel guilty.

We weren't exactly "needy"

and could afford to pay for this set.

I emailed the owner again and explained my feelings.

"please, she said...you are helping me out! We are moving, and it can not go with us"

When we arrived at their little second floor apartment

and knocked on the door,

a very friendly woman answered the door

and invited us in like we were old friends

That's when I saw THIS

 

The house was a mess,

and she explained she was in the midst of a divorce

She was leaving that night, moving to Georgia to live w her father...

Her young son was the same age as Keegan, 

and the boys were playing Xbox together within five minutes!

She was getting rid of this bedroom suite because it would not fit 

in her father's pick-up truck

(the father was just arriving from GA when we got there)

I exclaimed that I couldn't believe she was offering this for free...FREE!

she said she had it on CL for $100 but got no calls

(how did I miss this??)

She went on to tell me that her husband was up to no good,

had drained their bank account and she didn't even know where he was...

clearly, they were broke. 

(yep, that's Kenny in the mirror!)

We moved all the furniture downstairs and loaded it up,

chatting the whole time

I just didn't feel right taking  this set for free,

so I grabbed whatever cash I had in my wallet, 

along with a $25 Starbucks gift card I'd won,

but she refused to take it..,

"It's free" she said.

When I went back in to collect Keegan, 

I slipped the money and the gift card onto her table

and was on my merry way

In the truck, on the way home, I told Kenny how I'd left the money for them...

he laughed, and told me he'd left money, too!  

Hopefully, that extra money will buy food and gas for the trip back to GA,

and the Starbucks card will be a nice treat on the road!

I'm thankful that we had the ability to do something nice for this family...

Here is the set, in all it's glory

and for anyone that will insist we NOT paint it...

here's what the top of the nightstands looks like!

The set has its share of bumps and bruises

but it will be AMAZING once it's painted...

I'm going to use a new product

(new to us)

to strip the tops of the nightstands and dresser

Soy-Gel Stripper

We will let you know how it goes...

and of course, share pics when it's done!