I would like to bring to your attention of the kindness of a local family.

After spending a long day at a Seattle hospital while my daughter had surgery to remove a brain tumor, my granddaughter, sister and I went to the new Covington IHOP for a late dinner. It was after 9 p.m. and we were all very weary.

Not far from us was a young family, dad, mom and young daughter about 2 or 3 years old. The child was very unhappy about several things and loudly let her feelings be known. Dad and mom were very calm, reminding the child to use her manners and eat her meal. The child remained unhappy until Dad suggested they put her coat on and leave. The child then decided she wanted to eat.

As we were finishing our meals, the cashier gave us a receipt showing our meals were purchased by the young family. They paid with cash, so there was not a way to identify our benefactor. The cashier advised this family had earlier requested to assist a diner who did not have quite enough funds to pay for his meal, but the waitress, Blanca, had already taken care of the difference.

Earlier in the day, I had assisted a hospital employee who did not have quite enough cash to pay for his lunch. I had overheard the end of his conversation with the cashier, so I asked her to add his balance to my bill, unbeknown to the employee. I never dreamed that small kindness would be returned in such a short period of time.

We left a contribution for Blanca’s “assistance” fund and would like to encourage others to do the same. The staff at IHOP on Monday, Jan. 24, was outstanding. The service was quick, the food delicious and the friendliness very impressive.

We thank this young family and will remember them each time we “Pay It Forward”.

More than doubly blessed,

Sharyn Evans

King County