Raising two children takes a lot of work. And no matter how good your kids are, there’s always more food to cook, laundry to wash and homework to check. So it’s nice to have a partner to share the responsibilities with.
But unfortunately for Bridget Stevens, that wasn’t possible last year. Her husband, Bobby, is a soldier, and at the time, he was deployed.
And of course, the furnace at Bridget and Bobby’s house took the opportunity to break down.
One day, Bridget opened her front door to find that it was freezing inside, and she quickly realized that the furnace had died.
Everyone who has owned a home knows that a broken furnace can be really expensive to fix. But Bridget had no choice. She couldn’t fix it herself and the temperature inside her home was bone chilling.
Bridget called a plumbing company and the owner, Paul, stopped by her home to see what he could do. While Paul was working on the furnace, Bridget happened to mention that her husband was in the military and had been called up for duty.
Bridget forgot the conversation until she drove to Paul’s office a few days later to pay him. But when Paul handed her the bill for the job, Bridget got a shock.
On the receipt, Paul had written: “No Heat. Evening Call. Deployment Discount. $1. ”
Bridget was so moved that she went on Facebook and wrote that she tried to pay Paul for the work he did, but he refused to accept her money. Instead, he thanked her husband for his service.
In the post, which was shared more than 7,000 times before it was removed, Bridget wrote:
“This is a bit lengthy, but I just want to take a minute to acknowledge Betlyn Heating and Cooling. I came home with the boys to a cold house that was 50 degrees. When turning up the thermostat was not kicking the furnace on, I called Betlyn’s, thinking I’d get a machine and have to leave a message, then run to the store for space heaters.
Ultimately, Paul, the owner, answered and was very patient as he walked me through different things to do to try to get it back on. When none of that worked, he said he needed to come to the house to fix it.
As he was working on the furnace, we got to talking about Bobby and the deployment. I had mentioned in passing that I tried to figure it out with my husband, but since he’s deployed and couldn’t see it, he wouldn’t know what to do.
After he was finished, I was a little apprehensive about how much it was going to cost. He handed me the slip that is in this photo. When I tried to give him any money at all, he said that the $1 was a joke, and to thank my husband for his service.
So, thanks Paul Betlyn. My house is nice and warm thanks to you.”
Paul later set up a Military Deployment Kisses Fund to help military families meet their needs while soldiers are deployed overseas. And he raised more than $17,000. Amazing!
It’s hard not to be moved by this kind gesture. Please share this story if your heart was also warmed by this mom’s story.
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