In September 2013, a Redditor with a censorable pseudonym asked, “What is the ‘hardest’ right thing you’re ever done?” As always, Redditors had wonderful answers:
1) GI33m wrote, “I have a few, but one of the hardest things was probably this. I was in college. I had just deposited a check, and I was getting most of it back in cash, specifically $220 of it. I requested it in twenties, because I owed it to people and I needed to break it up. Instead of counting out twenties, the cashier counted it out in hundreds … as if they were twenties. Suddenly, I was handed eleven hundred dollars. She handed it to me, I sighed, and I handed it back, pointing out her mistake. She was visibly shaken. I just smiled. She told me I just saved her job. She wouldn’t let me leave without a lollipop.”
2) Ninja_Armadillo wrote, “Not fight the ex for custody of the children. As bad as I wanted to, I realized she was in a better position to take care of them than I was and I did not want to cause any further upheaval in their lives by moving them out of their house. I made a point to live nearby and worked out excellent visitation arrangements, but not having them live with me was brutal, but was what I thought was best for them.” Horse_you_rode_in_on commented, “The problem with family breakups is that the parents often lose sight of what’s best for their kids in a frantic drive to ‘win’ the separation. It may have been difficult then, but your kids will remember that your decision improved their lives, and your relationship with them will be the better for it down the road.” Lieutenant_Flagg commented, “As hard as it is to realize, this is what makes you a great father.”
3) riverine17 wrote, “Doing a routine police patrol when I see an envelope lying in the middle of the street. I stop my vehicle, get out and examine the envelope. The envelope had been ripped open a bit and looked like it had road rash as if it flew out of a moving vehicle. This envelope was unusually thick, I picked it up and noticed that [inside] it [is] three stacks of $100 bills. I look around and don’t see a soul in sight, not a person, not a car or house. Nothing. I take the package, return to my vehicle and count the money. $25k, clean crisp bills. I also find a withdrawal slip which shows the bank name and account balance ($0) which had been emptied into the envelope. I mulled over the possibilities of what I could do with that kinda cash, but ultimately realized that I knew what I had to do. […] I proceeded to the bank and as I’m walking up to the front doors, I see a man outside with head in hands, sobbing. I ask the man what was wrong, to which he replies, ‘My wife’s going to kill me, man, we spent almost 5 years saving up our money for a house and I lost it!’ I ask him how much he lost and he responds ‘$25k! Can you believe that! I put the envelope on my car to unlock it and must have forgotten it on the roof and drove off!’ I ask the man which roads he took and he confirms the road [on] which I found the envelope. ‘I took INSERT ROAD HERE but it’s no use, I checked already and it wasn’t there, no use wasting anymore time on it, some [*]sshole’s having a fucking spending spree on our life savings! I talked with the bank and they said they can’t help me.’ I then bring the man into the bank and ask to speak with the manager, she confirms that the man DID withdraw said amount and did lose it. I then turn to the man, hand him the envelope and tell him that not all people are thieves, not all cops are corrupt and sometimes, when you need help the most the good deeds you do will hopefully pay off. He was excited, kept thanking me and tried to give me some of his money, I refused and only asked that if he is in a similar situation one day, that he return the favor. In retrospect, It wasn’t necessarily a hard right decision, but I think most people would have mulled over spending the money right away, I just knew that I had to do the right thing. I made a report about the incident, just to keep it on record or whatever and a lot of my coworkers laughed at me and called me a fool for giving up the money. I no longer work there. When I tell the story to this day, a lot of people criticize my honesty. To each their own.”
For Further Fabulosity: Openyourarse, “What is the ‘hardest’ right thing you’re ever done?” Reddit. 17 September 2013
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