what a loving spirit looks like – a reminder

my sister called me during the day today, around 3 or so. she doesn’t often call, we usually text or just see each other in person, since we live just a few blocks from each other. i was in the middle of working on a writing deadline, and normally don’t take personal calls during the workday… but i always take her calls because she’s my sis and also i know when she calls it means something is time sensitive or to be dealt with quickly. so i picked up the phone. she told me she thought her car had been stolen while she was at a meeting. she was pretty stressed and waiting for the cops to come to file a police report. her phone battery was low so we talked quickly.
my sis is one of those people who keeps a lot of stuff in her car that she means to deal with later, so having her car stolen means not just losing the car but also losing random important and valuable stuff like a new pair of running shoes, her laptop cord, her guitar, notes from a recent meeting that she is intending to type up and distribute…
in other words, it is stressful on lots of levels.
i checked in with her briefly a couple times this afternoon via text and email to make sure she had info for the insurance company, check whether she needed a ride etc. she ended up having to walk to the police station and file a report, then taking the subway and walking the 20 or so minutes home. her phone battery was dead and so she did not get my final messages this evening checking again to see if she needed a ride. she did not get home until nearly 7 this evening. by that point i was visiting with some friends who have a new baby, and i had taken them dinner, and wasn’t paying close attention to my phone. she had texted to ask whether she could borrow my car to pick up a new cord for her laptop from the mac store before it closed. i missed her text, and called her around 8:15. by that time she was already biking back from the store, which is about 4 or 5 miles away from her house. on my way home i called her again to check on her. it’s now about 9:15pm or so. i called to see if she wanted to use my car tomorrow to deal with whatever was needed. she said “not sure, but if you’re on your way home, can you stop by, i have something for you.” i pull up and stop downstairs on her driveway, and she walks out with a bunch of flowers and says “thank you so much for being the person i can depend on, it means so much to me…” etc.
i’m in total shock. like, REALLY? she has had such a stressful day, has been dealing with this stuff for hours, just lost her car, is about to have to deal with insurance and all kinds of drama, has been navigating various forms of transportation etc, after almost a full day of work, and in all of that, she thought to get ME flowers, to say thank you? That is a perfect example of something my SAXBF would NEVER have thought to do. i would not have expected anything like this, but hell, he would not even have thought to get me a thank you card or flowers several days later. not since the old days.
just a good and perfectly timed reminder of what real thoughtfulness is, and of what relationships can look & feel like when you continuously invest in making sure people know they are really appreciated. tonight of all nights, it was so helpful as i have been second-guessing my relationship decision all day. i am so thankful for her example and wanted to share it with all of you.