Simple Note on Restaurant Receipt Leaves Mom and Dad in Tears

Rachel Bertsche
·Writer
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The parents of a 21-year-old with cerebral palsy were moved to tears after two kind strangers paid for their family’s meal.

Caryn Thomas was eating dinner with her husband and son at an Arvada, Colorado, Red Robin on Monday before heading to the grocery store, she wrote in a post on the 9News Facebook page. In the note, she describes herself and her husband as “proud parents of a 21-year-old amazing young man who happens to have cerebral palsy.”

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The meal progressed like any other, she says. “I got up and started our son’s tube feeding as [our meals] arrived,” Thomas wrote. “We enjoyed our meal, [our waiter] making sure we had enough tea and water, making sure our food was as we ordered [it]. Later coming by to see if we any room left for some of their new desserts, but being full we say not today.”

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But the evening took a special turn at the end of the meal, when the waiter arrived with the check. “His eyes were sparkling and grin wide. He told us that when we came in, a couple had called him over to their table and told him they would be paying for our meal, but to not let us know until they were gone. Nick handed me the receipt, [where] they had left us a note,” Thomas wrote. The message on the receipt read: “It’s so lovely to see families united in Love. God Bless. — Brenda & George Pappas”

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The Pappas family may have been strangers, but Thomas says she’ll never forget them. “Those who know me know tears were falling,” she wrote. “My husband’s eyes welled up. [Our waiter] said he had heard about these random acts of kindness, but had never been a part of one. Made him feel good as well.”

Now, Thomas wants the thoughtful couple to know that their generosity does not go unappreciated. “We just wanted to let Brenda and George Pappas know that their act touched our hearts,” she wrote.

(Top photo: Facebook/Caryn Thomas)

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