Sincere Appreciation

Last night while shopping, an older gentleman I've never met, smiled at me and said "Hi". He had kind eyes, eyes that reminded me of my grandfather, so I smiled back. This same gentleman stood in front of me in line at the checkout and when the total rang up on his milk and few other food items, he started counting out change. Everyone in the line behind me seemed to grumble. As he was counting, he realized he was 2 cents short. The cashier wouldn't let him take his items without paying the last 2 cents. The entire line grumbled. Automatically, I handed the man 2 cents and when he protested, I just smiled and told him he was doing me a favor by taking it, I have too many pennies weighing me down. He gave me the most sincere thank you and smile that I've ever received. It was nice to be appreciated. I have been in a good mood since and for now I'm going to think of the older gentleman as my guardian angel. Maybe he knew I needed appreciation, but knew I wouldn't accept it unless it was deserved. Not that giving someone a couple cents is some great deed, but it was just enough to help him out and in turn make my day better. Kind older gentleman, where ever you may be, you really did help me by taking those 2 pennies. More then you'll ever know.