Month of Thanksgiving leftovers: thanking Miss Penny

Margaret Yang recently won one of two Month of Thanksgiving contests here on Newvine Growing by expressing her gratitude for her daughter’s bus driver.

Because Margaret won the “Who are you thankful for?” contest, I sent flowers to her house so she could give them to Miss Penny, the bus driver.

Margaret sent two follow-up notes on what happened when Newvine Growing helped her say thank you to Miss Penny:

Here are the flowers and my sentiments, all ready to go. I printed out the blog post and made it pretty with scrapbook paper.

I waited in the cold for the bus, but not for long, because Miss Penny is *always* right on time. Here comes bus 99!

Miss Penny seemed really surprised but also really happy to get the flowers! She said she would enjoy them as long as she could. We couldn’t stay to chat because Miss Penny had a bus full of kids to get home on time. She posed for a quick picture and then asked the boy in the front seat to hold the flowers for her while she drove.

And now I feel great! It’s true that gratitude comes back to you tenfold in happy feelings. I can’t stop smiling. Thanks for making this possible, Colleen. I would never have thought to give flowers to a school bus driver if it weren’t for you!

Margaret

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Margaret’s story of thanking Miss Penny made me feel so good — I was honored to encourage her to say thank you to someone who made a real difference in her life.

Then it got even better. Margaret followed up after she got a thank you note from Miss Penny.

Dear Colleen,

Amy brought a note home from Miss Penny. This is what it said:

Dear Margaret,

I can’t tell you enough how much I’m enjoying the beautiful holiday flowers. They smell wonderful! But I really enjoyed your kind and thoughtful note the most. Thank you for letting me be a part of Amy’s school day.

Miss Penny #99.

Read that last sentence again. She’s thanking me for letting her drive Amy to school. How can you not adore a bus driver like that?

Those flowers might have been the best money I’ve spent in a long time, and that got me thinking about something Eleanor wrote when I originally announced the contest:

I used to tithe monthly by sending a bouquet of flowers to someone who inspired me – a favorite children’s book author, an unknown choreographer, a wonderful great aunt, etc. Was a lot of fun, especially since the person was not expecting this.

I love that idea! Committing a little money each month to saying thank you in an extra-special way to someone who makes your life better? Fabulous.

Categories: lifestyleTags: #monthofthanksgiving, bus driver, gratefulness, gratitude, Miss Penny, Month of Thanksgiving, saying thank you, sending flowers

Month of Thanksgiving leftovers: thanking Miss Penny

I'm Colleen Newvine, and I would love to help you navigate your evolution or revolution