Polite, Pleasant, Personable

My large collection of houseplants has been summering outside,  but cold weather is around the corner and they'll all have to come inside. This year I decided to reduce the size of the collection and posted a message offering a group of them on the free section of Craigslist.

Within two minutes of finalizing my post I got the first response, and ten others came in before I could log back into my account and delete it. Most of the responses got right to the point, asking some variation of Are the plants still available? A couple of people also added when they'd be able to pick them up. I wanted the plants gone, so I offered the lot to the first responder. However, shortly after that I received this email:

Good evening!

I just saw your post for the houseplants. If they are still available, I would love to have all of them. I grew up with my grandmother who always had plants, mostly aloe, spider plants, Christmas cacti, and a couple of African violets. Anyway, I have become more interested in plants in recent years and in fact am in a botany class now at the community college.

Thank you for your time and consideration! Have a great night!

The message was so personal and polite I was disappointed I had already made arrangements. I answered the message, saying:

The plants are already spoken for, but I will keep your name in case they don't show up. Also, I may have more in a couple of weeks, if you'd like me to let you know.

I quickly got another response:

Thank you so much for letting me know. I'm always looking for plants, so yes, please keep me in mind for more, if you can. Thanks again, and have a great night!

When I did come up with more plants to get rid of I contacted the polite woman directly.  She seemed thrilled to accept my discards, and stopped by my house on her way to work. I watched as she carefully arranged the pots in the trunk of her car, then as she waved at me as she drove away.

Five years ago today: Two Words