This pin is in my wallet; I have had it for 21 years. I added the shiny holographic sticker after a Grateful Dead show. (Of course). It came pinned to my Christmas stocking and it has always been with me through multiple moves and pocketbooks and backpacks and wallets. My mother gave it to me. Not only do I hope I never lose it, I hope I never forget it. Thanks to a recent encounter, I have fallen in love with it all over again.

I am an annoyingly positive, glass-half-full kind of person. Were I not me, I would be plotting my murder. It is a good skill to have, however, the ability to see the silver lining of ANY cloud, even when the lining is so faint it is almost invisible, and the cloud is a massive, tornado-spawning thunderhead.

But lately new has not been too great. I am scared about the economy, my future, providing for Flipper, etc. etc. When I start to freak out about events that I can't control, I hang onto the knowledge that something good will happen. It always does. And so, for today's entry, I offer up something good that came out of something bad - and how glad I was that Flipper witnessed it all.

It was the recent snowy Monday. No school. Cold and hungry little girl. In an effort to make the day seem happy and fun, we went to our local diner, less than a mile from my house for breakfast. The owner, a really beautiful woman (and on the inside, too, as we shall see) told us to come back in 20 minutes, as they were opening late because of the snow.

So we walked to a money machine to withdraw cash for breakfast and a few days groceries. But my card was denied. If this has ever happened to you, to find out you have not a cent when you thought you had many, you know what a sickening feeling it is. And I was faced with that terrifying sensation of sand sliding away. Not only would I have to tell Flipper, but just 48 hours earlier, I had $1,100 in my checking account.

As expected, Flipper took the news badly. She began to cry.

We headed back out to the car, and saw the owner again, and she said "We're open!" I had to tell her the truth, "My card has been denied, I just don't have the money right now."

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled up and very clean ten dollar bill and held it out.

"Take this," she said, "I found it in my pocket today when I was doing the laundry."

I resisted, hating to take money from someone who obviously felt sorry for us, but accepted it. (She sees us in there pretty regularly). We went in, she and I chatted, and she left to pass out more menus. We ate. We left. And the next day I found out that my debit card information had been stolen online, and my account drained.

I had to go through the whole process; meeting with bank employees, filing a police report, etc. etc. But I didn't forget the $10, and a few days later, I took out a thank you note and tried to tell her in a few sentences how kind she was that morning, how much it meant to me, and how glad I was that Flipper witnessed her generosity. I put a ten dollar bill in it, sealed it up, and took it by the restaurant and left it for her.

Last week we went there again. She was there. We hugged each other, and she told me she was surprised that I wrote her a thank you note, that her simple gesture meant as much to me as it did. Then Flipper and I sat down at our favorite booth, and she headed to the mailbox with two envelopes in her hand. They were thank you notes she wrote to friends. She said my note made her want to write a few of her own.

And as soon as I can, I am going to find a way to pass along a ten-dollar bill to someone that needs it. Because it always comes back around.

Leigh appears Fridays on TriangleMom2Mom. Read more about Leigh at her blog Flipper and Me.