It's all worth it

So last night, me and Jas decided to go get dinner at this chinese restaurant I have been wanting to try. We had nothing going on (other than the fact the we were on call) so we decided to do a half date night and go to bed early since I work early this morning.
So there we are in the restaurant, and since we had never been there there were a few things we wanted to try. We decided to throw caution to the wind and order whatever sounded good. We ended up with an appetizer, 2 big entrees, soup, a big bowl of fried rice, a big plate of chow mein....lots of food for two people. The bill was going to be significantly more than what we wold normally spend on a casual night out, but as I said, caution to the wind.
As our meal ended and the waiter brough our fortune cookies, he told us someone had taken care of our bill.
What?? Who?
We were so surprised. The only thing we could figure is since we were both in uniform for the Fire Dept, maybe it was someone we had helped? Maybe it was a mother whose baby went into a seizure for the first time. Or an elderly man who woke up with crushing chest pain at 3 am. Or the young mother whose dryer caught on fire and she had to stand and watch as firefighters brought out flaming piles of her clothing and belongings.
Or, maybe it was someone who has never had any personal interaction with us, but simply appreciated what is done everyday.
It really made me feel appreciated. Which is something I don't think a lot of people let themselves feel. It seems to have become almost a faux pas to let yourself feel good about something you have done to help someone else. While I agree it is important to do "small acts of anonymous kindness", I also think it is good to know that someone appreciates YOU...YOU have made a difference in someone's life. And for me, it was a small reminder that sometimes, doing just a little more than saying "thank you" goes a long way.
It was such a simple thing, and we will probably never know who it was....but it was just an "upper." It made both of us smile. It was a reason to continue happily going on the seemingly insignificant calls as well as the important, life-saving ones.

Then again, maybe it had nothing to do with the fire department. But since I will never know otherwise, I am going to continue to let myself think it did.