Just had my first Christmas blub, in the wine aisle in sainsburys

[Belleende]

Was browsing the booze in sainbos and an older lady asked me for help in choosing some wine. We got chatting. She couldn't get to see her son, and was having to stay local with her other son. She would be there on Christmas day but on her own all the other days. She was heart broken. We both ended up in tears. So much sadness. I suspect they won't be my last tears this year.

[Janaih]

That's very sad. I'm glad you were both there to offer each other comfort each other.

Christmas songs and Carols on the radio are setting me off all over the place.

[BashfulClam]

At least she will have the day with someone rather than be alone then too. Small comfort I know.

[Belleende]

I got the sense she didn't feel entirely comfortable in the house of her other son. Every instinct in me said invite her to ours, but we can't. People need people.

[SmidgenofaPigeon]

No offence OP and it’s a kind thought but I’m almost certain she would rather be with her son on Christmas Day than a lady she met in the supermarket, so don’t agonise over that.

[CoronaIsWatching]

What booze did you buy

[Belleende]

Not for Christmas day, I meant other days when she will be on her own.
And yes I bought wine, gin and tequila. I was now browsing idly.

[LindaEllen]

@Janaih

That's very sad. I'm glad you were both there to offer each other comfort each other.

Christmas songs and Carols on the radio are setting me off all over the place.

I actually wish they'd bloody stop the Christmas cheer on the radio to be honest. Hearing happy Christmas songs just serves to remind me how happy I'm not this year .. I am LUCKY in the grand scheme of things, but I think for most of us this is going to be a bit shit ..

[SoupDragon]

I actually wish they'd bloody stop the Christmas cheer on the radio to be honest. Hearing happy Christmas songs just serves to remind me how happy I'm not this year

Hell no. I don't want misery on the radio.

[SmidgenofaPigeon]

Well, actually she doesn’t have to be on her own as she could form a support bubble.

[NameChangeforArmageddon21]

If you ever see her again in Sainsburys, I would be tempted to offer her your phone number. Sometimes just talking to another soul can help, or go for a socially distanced walk. During this pandemic I have volunteered as a befriender, I speak to 3 elderly people a week for a chat on the phone and one of them said it makes her entire week, she waits for me to call. They have the best stories and I always come away from the call feeling rejuvenated so they must do some magic on me too! Just an idea

[Redcherries]

I’m shielded and have barely spoken to a soul outside of my household this year. In the summer we would walk across to a local pub and sit outside with a drink. One walk a lady and I were both waiting for our husbands and got chatting. Her son was in America, I have a very close elderly relative equally far away. It was an emotional chat, but it really lifted my spirits to have spoken to someone new, to have shared our experiences and to have wished each other well. You probably made her day if she’s anything like me.

[JovialNickname]

I did unexpectedly start blubbing behind my mask in sainsburys the other day when they had carols from kings on...

[CandidaAlbicans2]

Christmas songs and Carols on the radio are setting me off all over the place

Same here, and I felt quite teary going round Waitrose today 😳 I'm tired of putting on a brave face/stiff upper lip that I'm struggling with the pretence that I'm happy when I'm not. Probably not helped by being perimenopausal either 🙄

[QueenPaws]

I cried in Morrisons a few years ago and it wasn't even covid then!
Food shopping in the veg aisle and I'm nosy so was eavesdropping. A young ish man (maybe early 20s) who wasn't from the U.K. from what I heard had asked an elderly (75 or so) about sprouts and Christmas dinner traditions. She was explaining how she cooked them, he was asking questions about turkey and all sorts and then who she was spending Christmas with
It was genuinely the most wholesome thing I had seen all year and I dissolved into tears

It sounds ridiculous but it was like she was passing traditions on to him despite not even knowing each other