What is one of the kindest things anyone has ever done for you? **Thread title edited by MNHQ**

[elliollie]

Doesn't have to be a big thing.

1. I was ill a few years ago, acutely for about 2 months and probably another 10 months after that. Particularly in the first two months, a friend of mine practically gave up all her time every day to sit with me, help with washing and cleaning and keep me going. She was a huge support to dh and the dc and we won't forget her kindness.
2. During the same time, I had another friend who would post me little cards every week or two, just to remind me that I was loved and appreciated.

Ahhh title typo!! Ever!

My sweetie of a flat mate (now ex). I had the double whammy of Noro virus and a lung infection so was not up to going out to shop.

She bought me some staples (I mean food staples - not that I was eating anything) and a lovely bunch of flowers.

I was really skint a few years ago and struggling to afford food. It was right before Christmas and an online friend (who I'd never met) did a tesco shop for me and had it delivered to my house. I've never forgotten her kindness and every shop I add some bits to the food bank collection with her gesture in mind to pay it forward.

I moved into a village and it snowed a few days later

One of my new neighbours brought over a carrier bag of fruit for my children so that I didn’t have to drag them out in the snow

Such a lovely thing to do

When my DS was born and once DH went back to work, my mum would come round to my house every day for about 6 months on her way home from work.
She'd often send me to bed so I could get some rest and take DS out or would leave me to snuggle with DS and tidy up a bit. I'll never forget that.

Mumsnet just deleted a thread that was stopping me from getting on with stuff. Kind. Helpful. Fab.

I once got on a train expecting to get off n two stops, luckily I was in first class, so I accepted a glass of wine and declined the sandwich saying I didn't think I had time to eat.

This is when I found out the train didn't stop until London Euston.

The member of staff eiht the wine came past and just left the bottle on my table with a smile.

I was worried about getting on a train going back north as Euston is huge and I'm disabled.

A member of staff came back and said they had booked a truck to take me and they wrote a note to get me home without a ticket but only in standard class.

As we were pulling in they told me the train I was one was the one going back as far as Birmingham where I could change to get home.

They spoke to the new staff and kept me in first class for the return journey.

I'm not sure it counts as the kindest but it was certainly welcome.

A friend basically moved in with when I had Pneumonia. She cooked and cleaned and looked after the kids and made me rest. She put her own work aside to do this.

A friend of my mums helped me massively when my mum died. She drove from the midlands to gatwick to meet me then drove me to Cornwall. She stayed with me for a fortnight and helped me clear mums house, do the legals, arrange the funeral.

I mentioned to a work colleague that no-one had ever taken me out for cake on my birthday.

I didnt know this colleague particularly well at the time, enough to say Hi in passing and maybe a little bit of small talk in the kitchen - our paths never really crossed.

Anyway, he emailed me on my birthday and asked if i could take him to the local retail park at lunch (he didnt drive). When we got there he asked me to go to the coffee shop where he bought me the biggest slice of cake they had.

When I was 15 I came to London on my own from the North to do a two week workshop. I was absolutely clueless and carried all my money for the whole stay around with me. In a pub at lunctime on day 3 someone nicked all my money. I was distraught. A lovely woman sitting at the bar saw how upset I was and lent me enough to survve for two weeks. When I got home I paid her back and she sent me a gorgeous letter saying she never expected to see the cash again. Her name was Bella Pereira. I'll never forget her kind face.

This is the other way round and I fear it will sound like I'm blowing my own trumpet, but I'm really not! The point is to show how nice I thought the other person involved was.

I used to work in publishing and years ago, I received in the post a fan letter for one of our authors. There was a note with it asking us to pass it to the author, and some stamps. Obviously a big publishing company could afford the cost of a stamp, so I sent them back to the fan with a short letter.

She replied with a beautiful hand-painted Christmas card for me and a lovely note of thanks. I was so touched. I've still got the card.

I was on the train from up north to London to meet my sister, it was a Friday night and the trolley comes round... I order a prosecco and there is no card payments! The woman next to pays for it! £7.50! I hadn't even been chatting to her, I asked how I could pay her back and she said just do something kind for someone else. Gobsmacked!

2016 was a pretty shitty year. It was horrible.
I went out for a couple of drinks with a friend that I hadn’t seen for a while and we got talking about one of her friends who is an artist. She showed me some of her work, and I spent ages fawning over it on Instagram.
Christmas arrived and there was a mystery present for me with no tag or anything on it. I opened it, to find a portrait of myself, depicted as a mermaid in the style of this artist with a note on the back saying “Like the legend of the mermaid, you to have the power to control the storm”.
I burst into tears and knew straight away it was from my friend. Such a lovely gesture and it made me feel like she truly understood what I was going through

When we first got married money was tight. DH was into a sport which offered competitions against better players which in turn you got onto the circuit.
A comp was advertised which cost £25 to enter(late 70's so quite a lot of money). A work friend of DH asked why he didn't enter as he was very good.
DH explained that we couldn't afford it. This work friend said I will pay and we will go halves on anything you win.(1000 first prize).
DH entered and won the whole comp, which in turn got him on the circuit, where he became the No 1 in this sport. This changed our lives in a big way.
Friend wouldn't take his share, he said it was his claim that set DH on this path.
As a side but of info this man and his wife are our childrens Godparents, their son and ours work together. It seems like fate our families are very close even after 40 years.

I suffered pneumonia a few years back and my lovely neighbour came to see me nearly every day, buying a newspaper and bread, milk, etc (inasmuch as I could eat or drink anything as I didn't stop coughing for long enough to get/keep anything down) and this was a tremendous help.

In February 1985 when I was in the 2nd year of an English degree my dad died suddenly of a heart attack. I went home for the funeral and returned to college exactly 2 weeks later.
I went to see one of my tutors to explain that I would do all I could to catch up on missed notes. We had a brief chat and I mentioned seeing some snowdrops I'd seen in a garden as I walked to college had cheered me up.
A couple of days later there was a knock at my student house and she was at the door with a bunch of snowdrops for me. It meant such a lot that she had taken the trouble to find out where I lived. I always think of her whenever I see snowdrops.

I was in A+E and one of the nurses who had actually already finished her shift took the time to find me a sandwich since I hadn't eaten for three days.

My Dh had an accident at work , he was miles away from home , I drove to see him ( never realising how far away he was !) I had no where to stay , no spare money , The lovely lady at the office put me up for the whole week , food , entertainment (bingo) , showed me the local sights etc , that was over 15 years ago , we still send Christmas cards . I will never forget how lovely she was .

When I was 15 I had a lot of operations and was in bed for a whole summer holiday, one of my friends rode a 6 mile round trip every day to sit with me, even if I'd sleep for most of the visit.

A few years ago I needed quite an expensive item to continue in my job, a friend let me use their credit card to purchase it and then pay back installments.

In a night club when a huge fight was breaking out behind me and I was unaware, someone literally picked me up and moved me out the way, I would have been trampled.

This summer I was in a park with my DC's, didn't have a lot of change and the cafe didn't take card. I told DC to pick between a drink and ice cream, a lovely man gave them the extra money so they could have both.

I would be so completely delighted if the person concerned just randomly (& I know this is unlikely) happened to read this. About 10 years ago my mum had been diagnosed with Alzheimers Disease and my dad booked a day trip on the Northern Belle/Orient Express train as a 'last hurrah' kind of an idea. However, she had always been the organiser and he was a bit overwhelmed by the paperwork - which meant they arrived at the station at the wrong time and missed it. Not unreasonably the company makes it clear they cannot refund if you miss such a one off journey. He was devastated and blamed himself. They couldn't afford to rebook. It was heartbreaking because of the context. I expected nothing, but felt I had to try so I wrote to the company explaining with a copy of mum's medical letter. I will never forget the kindness of the letter I received back: it wasn't just the offer of a replacement trip, it was the sheer unadulterated kindness of her words. It still manages to bring the promise of tears to my eyes when I think about it. It allowed my dad to redeem himself and move on and gave the two of them a wonderful day before the very hard times that were to come. Thanks op for giving me the opportunity to share

Best thread ever 😁

My DM died a little while ago, I have no other family and my DH was a fantastic support. My best friend came from the other side of the country, leaving her own DC with her DH, just to hold my hand through the arrangements, etc. I thought I was mentally prepared since it was a terminal illness but it knocked me for six. Having my friend stay with us gave me such comfort and I will be forever grateful for her and the sacrifice she made to be with me.

Love threads like this, thank you

I was really struggling financially a few years back as I'd gone back to full time education. Two close friends were getting married and having a hen do in Manchester (I'm not local to Manchester). Another woman who I'd only known through social media, who was also a friend of theirs (lesbian wedding, hence joint hen do) sent me the money to pay for the train so I could come, with no conditions just so I could make it. She never told anyone so I didn't feel at all embarrassed. It was so kind.

I love this thread but it is making me cry so much!
I have the most kind friend who will do anything at any time for anyone who needs it. It’s hard to pick things out. I spent most of my last pregnancy very unwell - and she would be there at a minutes notice to look after DD while I had doctors appointments/hospital stays/just felt too ill. I had a fit and able mum nearby and a sister but I learnt fast that my friend was always there and willing. She would take DD on outings, make sure she (and DH and I) are decent meals, did laundry etc. She’s shortly due a baby herself and she still drops meals by when we’re ill. I feel like that’s just a snapshot of what she does. My sister’s friend’s dad died, mum moved away to cope with the grief and her only sister had a suicide attempt. My friend was round at my sisters friend’s house that night with a hug and a bag of supplies (homecooked food from her freezer and bits from the shop.) They didn’t even know each other. She is one hundred percent wonderful.