Dudash and I made plans to hang out yesterday. It was to be a dinner and movie night at his place, and I was really looking forward to it. Having a barely functioning scooter has left me feeling restricted. Unable to go out or make plans. I feel like spring fever has hit and I can’t do anything about it. So even if it meant a few yards to my neighbor’s home, I was relishing it. So was Dudash (aka Mika).
He started texting me early in the afternoon yesterday. Said he had a surprise, and did I know what it was. Honestly, no, but I figured that maybe Lee would be there. He was scheduled to work, but maybe his schedule had changed. Really, Lee is a sweety, and I’m looking forward to playing D&D with him. I was really expecting Lee.
But it wasn’t him, or anything else that I could reasonably fathom. No, it truely was a surprise.
I walked over to Dudash’s place and he asked me if I had guessed the surprise. I said no. Then he starts rattling off names that he had written on a legal pad. I recognized a few who were his friends and I had met at his parties. Some were neighbors, and the others were strangers to me. It was a ton of names. And as he’s reading them off I started getting this twisted feeling in my stomach. Dudash had acquired nearly $2000 in donations from his friends for me. $2000 to pay for a scooter!
I still can’t believe it. I can’t believe he did this for me. He knows that if I had known beforehand I would have forbidden it. So he did it behind my back. He blocked me on facebook, started an event, and everyone pitched in.
I stammered for the better half of an hour yesterday. Saying thank you. Feeling positively awkward. I grew up believing that you do things for yourself, and asking for help is absolutely cringe worthy for me. A part of me feels like I’ve failed myself somehow. I should have tried harder. I’m in a position not many people understand, and when help comes my way, I don’t know how to deal.
I just know that I’m incredibly blessed to have Dudash as my friend. I feel like I’ll spend the rest of my life making this up to him. And that’s ok. It’s perfectly ok.