The holidays are supposed to be a joyous time of year, but it’s hard to get into the spirit when you’re already struggling to pay the bills. One mother found herself financially strapped a week before Christmas and decided to pick up extra shifts serving to make ends meet. Luckily, one customer ended up becoming her own personal Santa Claus.
Single mother Trisha Murphy endures 60-hour workweeks at multiple jobs to provide for her family. However, during the holiday season, she found herself feeling anything but jolly. Murphy had yet to do her Christmas shopping and her car had just been towed, leaving her with a $735 bill and no way to get to work.
Murphy decided to pick up a few extra weekend shifts at Denny’s, where she works as a waitress, but even then, she still had to pay for someone to look after her kids during that time. However, one table ended up restoring her spirit entirely.
Trisha shared her story on Facebook, writing, “Work was terribly dead and I thought for sure, I was screwed! I got this table of three men. They all looked a little grungy, and judging by their demeanour, I figured I’d get an average tip at most.” However, Trisha quickly learned not to judge a book by its cover.
Trisha Murphy admitted that despite her overwhelming stress level, she managed to paint on a smile and give the best service she could. While serving the three men, one kept asking her about Christmas. “I just told him I’m in it for my kids, but besides that, I don’t really get into it all that much,” Murphy relayed on Facebook. “He joked that he’d become my Santa. I (like every other waitress) led him to believe I was married and kept on with the pleasant, yet safely distant, conversation.”
However, once Murphy gave the man his bill, he requested that she be the one to cash him out instead of the hostess who usually handles the transactions. Murphy thought it was odd, but obliged anyway. “When he put his card in, he had a huge, ear-to-ear smile,” Trisha wrote. “The receipt printed and I almost collapsed! I looked up at this grungy-looking man, my face white as snow, and tears in my eyes. He just smiled again and said, ‘Merry Christmas dear.’”
Despite the man’s total bill being under $40, he generously tipped Murphy a whopping $500. Trisha concluded her grateful post by writing, “I don’t know this man’s name, but I hope he realizes that he literally saved Christmas for my children and me! Good people do still exist. Yesterday was the day I met Santa!”
If you found this story interesting, make sure to SHARE this post with all of your friends on Facebook. Click ‘NEXT POST’ for more stories like this!
