The Good Daughter

on December 22, 2009

I was a good daughter today! I drove about 2 hours north to take my dad to and from a doctorâ€™s appointment. Iâ€™m his â€œperson.â€ You know, the person you list down as your emergency contact. 🙂

My dad lives in the middle of nowhere!

To stay within the goals of the Responsible Spending Challenge, I decided to pack my lunch and snacks:

However, I gave away my sandwich to a homeless person standing at an intersection (the goodwill Christmas spirit is alive and well, I suppose), so I was only left with:

Pumpkin yogurt and granola:

And an apple:

Because I gave away my sandwich, I grabbed a slice of pizza at a little local shop on my way home (Dad had pizza, too):

And while I was in the hospital, I posted this Operation Beautiful note:

And this one at a gas station:

Off to PACK for my trip!

{ 49 comments }

Meredith December 22, 2009, 5:24 pm
I really admire you for giving away your sandwich to the homeless person. Selflessness is such a wonderful quality!

By the way, your love of pumpkin yogurt prompted me to try it myself… and I love it! Thanks for sharing.

Happy travels 🙂
Julie @ Peanut Butter Fingers December 22, 2009, 5:29 pm
i’m sure you made that man’s day. not only did he get a good meal, but i bet your generosity really touched him!
christie, honoring health December 22, 2009, 5:30 pm
That was really nice of you to give away your sandwich to the homeless person and to take your dad to his appt. You are a rockstar!
Nicole December 22, 2009, 5:38 pm
I’ve actually never posted on your blog before, but I read it everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. However, after reading this post I couldn’t help but comment and say that you are such an amazing person! Driving all that way for your dad & then giving your sandwich away, I am basically just speechless at your generosity. I wish there were more kindhearted people like you in the world! Keep doing amazing things! You are an inspiration to all. 🙂
- caitlin December 22, 2009, 5:40 pm
  thanks nicole 🙂 i think there are a LOT of generous people in the world! just gotta look for them.
  
  i dunno, re: the homeless man, my thing is always that i would want someone to do it for me if i were in that situation.
Shannon (The Daily Balance) December 22, 2009, 5:38 pm
your dad is lucky to have you 😉
Sam (Merit to the Carrot) December 22, 2009, 5:39 pm
You are a good, good person. I definitely admire you! That pizza looks fantastic, so it was a win-win situation for the both of you 🙂
Wendy December 22, 2009, 5:39 pm
I really admire your generousity! Such a simple gesture, but I’m sure it made a HUGE difference in that person’s day!

Where does your dad live? I interned in the Middle of Nowhere, FL (Trenton) one summer ~10 years ago.
- caitlin December 22, 2009, 5:48 pm
  he lives in williston – truly the middle of nowhere.
  - Wendy December 22, 2009, 6:34 pm
    I just Mapquested it…and it’s only ~30 miles from where I lived! Cool! Yes, middle of nowhere is a perfect description. FYI, there are several very large grazing dairies in that area. 🙂
kilax December 22, 2009, 5:39 pm
That was so nice of you to give your sandwich away! The post title should be “The good daughter and good Samaritan!”
Amanda December 22, 2009, 5:58 pm
That was so nice of you to make that trip, and to give your sandwhich away. Love the notes!
Lauren December 22, 2009, 6:05 pm
You are amazing! 🙂
Jenny December 22, 2009, 6:15 pm
Wow, I don’t know if I would have thought about giving my sandwich away! I will now though 🙂 Really sweet that you are your dad’s “person”.
amanda @ fake ginger December 22, 2009, 6:38 pm
That’s so awesome that you gave your sandwich away. <3
Jessica December 22, 2009, 6:41 pm
That pizza looks realllllly good.

And you are so sweet!! I sware good karma must follow you everywhere–especially with operation beautiful and all 🙂
Lindsay Perrone (goodiesgalore) December 22, 2009, 6:46 pm
Good for you. I stopped homeless people money and leave granola bars in my car to give away instead. I’ll never forget the man who picked up the bar, looked at it, then asked me for a different flavor. The nerve. They were nice organic ones too!
Heather @ The Joyful Kitchen December 22, 2009, 6:50 pm
Yummy pumpkin yogurt! How do you make yours?

Thanks for being the change that you want to see in the world, because it definitely makes a difference in mine!
- caitlin December 22, 2009, 6:51 pm
  check out the hyperlink!
Allison K December 22, 2009, 6:56 pm
What a sweet daughter you are! And, full of holiday spirit too!
Kailey December 22, 2009, 6:58 pm
aww that is so smart to put the operation beautiful post in a hospital 😀
Lindsey @ Sound Eats December 22, 2009, 7:00 pm
Ooh were you in Gville when you gave your sandwich to a homeless person? I might have known them!!! lol 😀
- caitlin December 22, 2009, 7:49 pm
  it was actually in williston! he was nice.
*Andrea* December 22, 2009, 7:09 pm
love the ghandi quote/operating beautiful note! on of my favs 😉 so cute about your dad being his ‘person’ – reminds me of a sex and the city episode
katherine December 22, 2009, 7:17 pm
I’m so glad you gave your sandwich to someone and talked about it on your blog – you’re sure to inspire others!!
Kelly December 22, 2009, 7:38 pm
Wow…you never cease to amaze me!
maria December 22, 2009, 7:41 pm
Love the last OB note! Very unique place to put it!
Vicky December 22, 2009, 8:03 pm
I have noticed that you are trying to add more pumpkin in your diet… so am I! I made a Pumpkin Pie smoothie today… you should experiment! I added canned pumpkin, walnuts, skim milk (but soy would have been better), 3 cubes of ice, and pumpkin pie spices… it was awesome!
-Vicky
- caitlin December 22, 2009, 8:10 pm
  oh that sounds good!
  - Vicky December 22, 2009, 8:49 pm
    I forgot… you need to add agave… for sweetness, otherwise I would be to tart.
Jenna December 22, 2009, 8:10 pm
aww you are so nice for giving away your sandwich!
jenna
Karla December 22, 2009, 8:26 pm
That’s so nice of you to take your Dad! I wish I lived closer to my parents!
Dung December 22, 2009, 8:37 pm
You are so sweet. By the way, what kind of sandwich was it?
- caitlin December 22, 2009, 8:41 pm
  peanut butter
Mel @ She Runs Brooklyn December 22, 2009, 8:51 pm
I was just about to write about how much I think you rock (again) when I realized I should mention I POSTED ABOUT YOU EARLIER! See? I really do like you 😉

yeah, so you rock. pizza = the right choice. love the action. i think the operation beautiful notes sit in your heart all day. was that sappy?
Jess December 22, 2009, 10:38 pm
It’s really nice that you gave your sandwich away. Where I’m from people can be really critical of the homeless and I think it’s important to try to understand their position. When I worked downtown I often would give half of my take away meals to homeless people. I came to know some of them pretty well and all most of them want is to not feel invisible.

I’m sure your gesture helped that man more than you know.
- caitlin December 23, 2009, 8:06 am
  i have always felt like… well, that could be me! sooo easily. i lived paycheck to paycheck all the time (um, and i currently live on credit cards). homelessness can happen to anyone who is struck by bad luck. i think you’re right – it’s important to recognize that they are no different than we are.
Christy December 22, 2009, 11:11 pm
Helping out your dad, a homeless person, and posting notes…Doing so many good deeds hehehe 😆
Britt (Runnerbelle) December 22, 2009, 11:20 pm
Hope your dad is ok. I’ve been my mom and dad’s person on call before too for procedures at the hospital. It still is a bit weird to reverse rolls of caretaker, but I know they appreciate it so much!
Nicole of Raspberry Stethoscope December 22, 2009, 11:42 pm
I love that you gave your sandwich to a homeless man! I once was coming back from some holiday that involved apple pie and my mom had given me leftovers. I had no change, but gave the homeless man my pie, hehe. he appreciated it, I think.
- caitlin December 23, 2009, 8:07 am
  aww!!
Reenie December 23, 2009, 12:46 am
God Bless you for giving up your lunch=)
Penny December 23, 2009, 12:56 am
You are really such an awesome person.
Sara December 23, 2009, 12:59 am
Aww, that is truly great of you. I must ask, though, how did you approach that situation? Because I always want to help those kinds of people who seem to be in need, but am afraid of being taken as presumptuous or insulting. Was he asking for food?
- caitlin December 23, 2009, 8:08 am
  he had a sign that said ‘will work for food’ or ‘will do any odd job’ something like that. so i just rolled down my window and said “sir? do you want a peanut butter sandwich?” and he laughed and said “every bit helps!”
Jolene (www.everydayfoodie.ca) December 23, 2009, 1:53 am
Oh heck does that pizza look good – I can’t resist a nice slice of ooey gooey goodness!
Casey December 23, 2009, 10:24 am
Have fun on your trip Caitlin!! Can’t wait to read about it :).
Claire December 23, 2009, 4:03 pm
You are such as sweetheart!!cc
Alison December 23, 2009, 8:16 pm
aww you have away your sandwich you are so sweet!!

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