Grace in light of adversity

Do you know those sweet people sent me a thank you note for being neighborly?

Still, next time I’m neighborly, I should leave a note so they don’t get upset to begin with. My bad…

Did a load of laundry tonight now that the washer is fixed. When my wash was done, came down to put my stuff in the dryer but there was a half-done blanket in it and a set of quarters on top. As a kind neighborly gesture (and also because I didn’t want to have to wait for the dryer) I flipped the blanket and used their quarters to run it a second time.

Came back again to put my clothes in the hopefully now free dryer, to a polite note stating: “Dear Neighbor: I am missing 5 quarters that were on the dryer for a second load. If you took them by mistake I would greatly appreciate their return” [signed with their name]

I replied, “They weren’t taken. I flipped your bedspread and used the quarters to dry it another cycle because it was still slightly damp and I needed to use the dryer when your blanket was done. Sorry for the cause for concern but I assure my intentions were honorable” [signed with my name]

In hindsight, I should have left a note saying “hey, hope you don’t mind, but your blanket needed another go, so I used your quarters and started it for you because I need to dry my clothes when it’s done” but I’m not used to sharing one washer and one dryer in a building with 8 apartments. 

But what would you have done?