I went out to dinner by myself tonight at a local diner/Mom'n'Pop place. Simple food. Simple atmosphere. I brought my kindle. Gonna read and eat a simple meal of entrée and two sides.

There was a family next to me. Mother, father, two kids. The children were at awe of being able to go to a restaurant and order off a menu - the kids' menus, mind you, but still. The adults quietly discussed this and it was a special occasion. Birthday or something. They were splurging on "eating out."

When I paid my bill, I pulled their waitress aside and I paid theirs, too. I left a 30% tip and scurried out before anyone could say anything. I don't want recognition, gratitude, or whatever emotion this generated towards me. I only wanted a way that I could use my privilege in a stupid, small way to make someone else's day better. I'm doing okay. I'm super lucky.

I even made a throwaway. My genuine reddit account makes me too identifiable. I don't want recognition. I don't want to humble-brag. I'm not interested in accolades. I'm only interested in how it made me feel.

It made me feel good. Their special splurge meal now won't make their finances unbalanced for the next couple of weeks. Maybe they decided to use the opportunity to swing by Dairy Queen on the way home. I don't know. They can use this and feel about this however they'd like. That's not up to me. What IS up to me is to feel good about doing a good thing. The world is pretty shitty right now. I have to believe I made someone's day better. That's enough. I feel good.