Leaving my lunch pitstop, this woman (late-30s, brunette, completely unfamiliar) rolls down her window and asks me, “Did you work at the library?” Thoroughly confused as I had no clue who she was, I answered that I worked there for about 3 years but I work for some place else now. My mind was racing to determine who she was. She was not a co-worker, a friend, a close friend of a friend, or anything else obvious. So she told me. “You really helped me. I returned to college as an older student. There is no way I would have graduated without your help.” Really. I thanked her. I also told her she made my day.

Thank yous are great. Especially when they come from someone who remembers you many years later.