Random Act of Kindness - to balance all the ranty threads, tell me of a random act of kindness that you have never forgotten.

A particularly random one:
I was walking home with ds across the bottom of the park, hugely stressed with a 6-week-old, breast thrush, no sleep, no roof, etc.
On a bench was a white envelope which said 'For You'

So I sat down and opened it. There was a handwritten note which said something like 'You are wonderful. Have a little treat, like a cup of tea and a bun. Random acts of kindness make the world a better place.' And £2.50.

I didn't need the money but it cheered me up no end - eventually resealed it and put it on another park bench for someone else.

All the people who've ever been on a bus or train or in a confined space and helped entertain my toddler. Actually, what really comes to mind are all the admin and medical and similar staff who have fought their computer systems to help me get what I need at the time. GP and hospital receptionists get a bad press but so many of them have really helped me through hard times.

My MIL is a respite carer and has become very attached to one little girl she helps who got strep B at birth and is now quite severely brain damaged and life limited.

One day a few weeks ago, her parents laptop - which contains all of their photos of this precious little girl - died and it looked like they'd lost everything.

DH got his Mum to bring it over and he fixed it for them saving everything.

I'm so proud of him.

Ok ok I know I said I wouldn't post any more but....

The midwives at the hospital when I had DC. I had to be kept in for an emergency blood transfusion overnight after spending 3 days on the ward and was petrified. Even though I was there as an NHS patient they found a spare private room for me for that night so that DH could stay with me.

And one that went both ways:
On holiday last year DH, DS (who was 2 1/2 at the time) and me went to visit Pooles Cavern. We weren't sure how DS would behave on the tour, but we needn't have worried, he was fantastic listening to the guide and asking questions and even answered one too ("What does this stone look like?" "An eye.") He did wander and chatter a bit, but was very good. Anyway, at the end of the tour DS spontaneously ran over to the guide and said "Thank you".
When we got back to the giftshop the guide came over to me to ask if it would be ok for him to give DS one of the bouncy balls he had seen him eyeing up before the tour as it had made his day having such a polite and attentive child on the tour! It was only a little 50p thing but was such a lovely gesture and DS couldn't wait to show his grandparents what he got and tell them why he got it. A good lesson for him that kindness comes back!!

I was two weeks overdue and went into hospital to be induced. Within a few minutes of having the pessary, DD became very distressed and her heartrate plummeted and there was a flurry of activity. I had an anaesthetist in one ear and the obstetrician in the other ear and several midwives in the room/between my legs etc. There was a lot of information to take in and it was obvious it was being treated as an emergency.

I was trying really hard not to be a baby, but I was frightened and started to do the silent weeping yet trying-not-yo-thing. One kind midwife kept coming back to give my hand a squeeze, every minute or so. She was the one that confirmed to the consultant that the slow heartbeat was definitely DD's, not mine, and once the decision had been made that I needed a EMCS, she came with us into theatre and in between doing her job, she kept coming back to squeeze my hand and I felt so cared for.

Another midwife found me on my second night in hospital, weeping in the dark in the canteen. I'd gone in there after not wanting to draw attention to my tears in the ward where I was with other new mums. I didnt realise at the time, but was on a massive drugs come down after the GA and having stopped the morphine that morning, but just felt so massively incapable and alone. She was so kind and spent about an hour helping me BF DD. She then took DD for an hour so I could have a rest. I never got her name, but to both Stephanie and the unnamed midwife in Exeter, thank you so much.

This thread has made me shed quite a few tears...
Had a random act of kindness myself just now. Came back from yet another job interview feeling pretty deflated (I'm perfect on paper but lose my confidence in an interview situation). Went to Marks for chocolate (medicinal purpose!) and an older woman beamed at me and told me I was 'beautifully tall' and that she'd always wanted to be tall like me. Made me smile for ages and I suddenly felt so much better. Who cares about jobs, I am tall, me!

I was a yoof backpacking round Oz when my accommodation fell through on New Years eve. I was stuck in Sydney with nowhere to stay on the busiest night of the year. I walked round every hostel in the city and called everyone I knew for a floor to crash on, to no avail.
I was prepared to walk to airport and sleep on my rucksack all night in waiting room when young bloke behind me at phone booth offered help.
He took me to his house with all his friends where I got dressed up and taken out for FAB new years at rooftop nightclub with midnight view of new years fireworks as only Sudney can do over the bridge (ticket only event - he had a spare worth lots of dollars!). To cap it off I was included with all his friends, given a place to stay for that night and the next. I couldn't have had a better time with nicer people. Talk about from Hell to Heaven!

Peppermint.... sniff

kitstwins wow... (sob) Please write a letter to the Jewish Chronicle and tell them your story. It would mean so much, and they would get to hear of it.

We were on an 11hr flight to Singapore when without warning ds threw up everywhere. The flight attendant cleaned everything up, then brought ds a blanket while she handwashed his clothes and put them over a warm part of the plane near the doors. Then she brought me a cup of tea and ds and dd some aeroplane toys to play with.

All this with the nicest smile and sweetest temper that made all the difference.

I also want to pay tribute to a midwife who helped me decide what to do when I found I was pregnant(unplanned) with my DS. I was in a right flap about what would be for the best-having the baby or not having the baby. I couldn't think straight, had no support from my family (nearly all mad), miles away from them anyway, and I'd split with the dad in the most extreme circumstances.

In my bruised brain I thought if I could go onto a maternity ward and just look at babies(I know, I sound mad too and in a way I was), I would have a revelatory moment and know what to do!

I went to my local hospital and explained myself to this midwife. Even though I must've seemed bats, she sat me down, got me a cuppa and a biscuit, while gently explaining that I couldn't just "go and look at some babies". She sat with me while they called security for more than an hour, never judged me, never told me what to do, just listened. She was amazing. Talk about beyond the call of duty.

Some weeks later I had a scan in the same hospital. I took a big bunch of flowers with me and they found her for me(I only knew her first name). She didn't think she'd done anything extraordinary, but she did. I was at my very lowest and without her kindness, I might not now have my beautiful darling son.

God I do sound mad.

My DS1 had to be resuscitated 5 times during his first 3 days and spent time in special care. By the time I got him back up to the ward with me I was a nervous wreck, unable to sleep, terrified to take my eyes off him, completely convinced Id lose him at any minute. Most of the midwifes were clearly irritated by my irrational behaviour, floor pacing and constant questioning "Is he OK?" One lovely midwife took time to sit with me and tell me "He's going to be fine. You are going to have to put your faith in God that he is going to be fine". For some reason I believed her. I honestly think Id have gone completely insane without her wise words. I wish she could see what a handsome strapping 13yo he is now. I think about her often.

Thanks to everyone for sharing.

Kitstwins your story is incredibly moving. It reminded me of the night I'd had DS by c-section and was exhausted and in a lot of pain. DS had been feeding almost exhaustively and was finally asleep so I was dozing. He woke up again crying and I physically could not push myself upright to pick him up. I was in so much pain and had absolutely no strength. I couldn't reach the button to call the nurse either. An orthodox Jewish woman on the opposite side of the ward who had her baby a few hours earlier, struggled out of bed, shuffled over to me, picked up DS and handed him to me. Then she waited till he'd fed and put him back in the cot.

I have cried my way through several of these and laughed alot at the Croydon teenagers story. It's not often you find the time to read a thread from beginning to end...but it was worth it.

On my way to uni for first day, Plymouth to Newcastle, conductor says my ticket my dad had bought was invalid for that day. Had to pay him my rent money for new ticket. Arrived at station late, no taxis left. Taxi came and I just cried so much. Set off for Halls. he pulled in at a garage and came back with tissues and a huge bar of chocolate. when we arrived at halls he grabbed the first lad he could and said, "look after this girl, she has had a rough day". I am still friends with that student today 15 years later. And, he still looks out for me.

This is a good thread.

Random acts of kindness:

The time, during a very low point in my life, I got stranded in a strange city (had gone there to try to persuade an ex-boyfriend to get back with me - majorly sad, I know) and a total stranger offered me a bed for the night, he didn't come on to me or anything, he just found me crying in the street and was kind (he gave me his bed to sleep in whilst he slept on the sofa).

Then the time the following morning when I didn't have enough money for the coach home (had been too embarrassed to ask Lovely Guy coz he'd already done enough) and I approached two young girls in the bus station and asked if they could give me a few quid and they said yes.

Love this thread, too many lovely stories to mention each one but they have really helped me to remember the good in the world.

I'm going to add one more, the lovely lady in the garden centre cafe with her grandaughter this lunchtime who stayed with distraught DS1 and baby DS2 when DS1 peed himself in the play corner , while I ran to the car to get him a change of clothes, By the time I returned she had calmed DS1 down, then she sat with DS2 while I took DS1 to the toilets to sort him out. I hope she realises how much easier she made it for me and DS1 - night and day compared to dragging toddler and baby across car park, both to toilets etc. It was just really kind and helpful.

My best friend also has her midwife to thank for her sons life. Not unusual you might think but when her waters broke the midwife slipped on them and broke her arm. The baby's heartbeat had been very irratic up until that point and the labour was progressing very quickly. The midwife refused to leave my friends side until the consultant came as she knew something was seriously wrong although it was likely she would give birth shortly. She did not know what was causing the problem but as the labour progressed the problem got worse but still she demanded a consultant see my friend and that she not be allowed to continue with a natural labour.

When the consultant came they argued the point and my friend was taken into surgery.
As it turned out her son had no chest bone or clavicles. Every contraction was basically crushing his heart and lungs hence his distress. Babis with this condition die during the birth as they often labour quickly and travel easily down the birth canal (due to the lack of shoulder width).

Had this angel of a midwife not been there, he wouldnt be here now. Only one other child has survived with this condition in the UK and the only reason she survived is because it was a planned c-section.

I knew I had one...here it is.

I had a wonderful cat, sweet gentle little thing - he went missing one night and didn't come back. We looked and looked. He had been chipped & I thought if anything bad happened I would surely receive a call. A neighbour told me they saw a sign up on a light pole about a cat which had been involved in an accident. It said he had been taken to an animal hospital. I called, but was told though my cat had been seen by the vet, it was out of hours and they couldn't tell me any information about him. He was apparently scanned for a chip, but no chip found, so they hadn't contacted me. I was confused and so angry that they wouldn't tell me if he was ok or not.

The next day I found out he had been taken into the hospital by a man who accidentally hit him with his car. He died. I got the number of the gentleman who took him to the vet. I spoke with him & he told me what had happened. I was so sad to lose my wonderful cat, but so grateful that this man was so kind to take him, in the middle of the night, to get help and I was so glad he was not alone in the gutter when he died. There's always a right and wrong way to deal with a bad accident & I was thankful for the care he took of my beautiful puss.

When I was unknowingly preggers with DS I was sitting on the M6 in a big long traffic jam when I suddenly started having a heavy nosebleed. I didn't have a single tissue in the car and was just panicking. Suddenly there was a knock on my window and a gentleman was standing there with a box of tissues for me and wet wipes to tidy me up. Very grateful.
I also had a bad/good experience in Asda. DS had an exploding poo that was literally dribbling out of his tiny shoes. The Asda staff gave me one tiny little wet wipe whilst my husband ran around the store to get supplies. The lady who was also in the baby changing room looked at me in disgust, packed her daughter up and walked out. Seconds later another woman walked in and immediately got out nappy bags and wipes and helped me get my DS and the room clean and tidy again without me even asking.
My FIL was also the type to do good deeds. He saw a couple struggling with their car on the main road. He went over to see if they were okay, they were canadian tourists and the car that there 'house swap' had given them had broken down. He towed them back to the garage he owned where they found the car was not immediately repairable. He gave them one of the pool cars so that they could complete there journey to the wedding they were attending and had travelled over for (they were travelling on to Buxton). He told them to let him know where they were leaving it and post the keys back. He also arranged for the swap car to be fixed and returned to the house. The keys were posted back as promised. He never asked for a penny but a month or so later a cheque arrived along with a huge bunch of flowers for my MIL and an invite to stay with them in Canada at their expense. Sadly my FIL died a year or so later from cancer so never got to take the trip.
The church and outside were filled to capcity with people who he had helped in life and who were so grateful to have know him.

I was at my grandma's funeral this week - she was 91. I love(d) her but, in all honesty, she could be a difficult lady. She was a tad negative about things and could be somewhat critical.

Well, despite her advanced age, all these people turned up at the funeral. There were many tales of how she helped people in the community. Looked after endless children, cleaned people's houses, ran errands for them, got shopping. Some of the things she did every day for years, a bit like the lady who helped with the twins earlier in the thread. She also did tons of voluntary work usually involving children and babies.

I knew about some of it, but the scale of what she did was quite a surprise. It was very moving.

I think that the greatest kindness can come from the most unexpected people. It is so important not to judge people on what they have to offer by way of social niceties and how smiley they are. People like this often just want to do it quietly without fanfare, preferably anonymously and without fuss.

Very moving.

Me too rhubarb