Someone was just very kind to me

[Sairelou]

I'm still feeling a bit emotional about it too!

I took DCs to Morrisons cafe as we needed a couple of bits on the way home from the park and they were getting hungry. I went to pay and my contactless card wasn't working I couldn't remember my PIN either and after a couple of tries I was getting really flustered and hoping the ground would swallow me up. Typically I had left my credit card at home and no cash on me. I went to get DS who was sitting down at a nearby table to leave (bracing myself for the inevitable tantrum, understandably!) and the gentleman behind me in the queue offered to pay for our lunch!

I've put something on my FB page and hoping to track him down so I can repay him and I will certainly do the same if I see anyone else in that situation (provided I can remember my sodding PIN).

Also something from when I was little; we went to Alton towers and in a gift shop my dad overheard a little boy asking for a baseball cap. His Dad said no, it costs too much etc and just gave my dad a look like "kids hey?"

Anyways my dad had a go on one of those fairground things, basically won the jack pot. Hat, teddy bear, key rings... the whole deal. We were wandering around the park and saw the family again, so dad gave the family the goodie bag. I think I was about 6 and I was so proud that he was my dad.

Drama - your story reminded me of one of my own . Many years ago in South Africa, we had a fun evening at church. They were selling hot dogs, and I bought two. I walked back (just across the street) to my flat. There was a newsagent on the corner, and in front of it an elderly homeless guy was sitting looking very sad, hungry and hopeless. I went up to my flat, and felt so guilty when I looked at the hot dogs, that I went back downstairs, into the newsagents, and bought him a tin of beans (which the owner opened for me), a loaf of bread and a carton of milk. I gave it to the man, who immediately started eating, his mouth so full that he couldn't thank me, but I'll never forget the way he looked at me - as if I was an angel who had appeared out of the sky. Back in my flat, I then felt guilty because I hadn't bought him an apple or something as well lol.

Where I live sometimes I see bus drivers get off the bus to help passengers who have mobility problems get out and to the door they're going to or who are visually impaired to cross the road.
Nobody has ever complained about the wait.

When I was heavily pregnant with DD I had gone to the cash machine and withdrew 150 to go shopping. I took my card but completely forgot to take my money, walking away I didn't even realise that I had left my money in the machine, behind me their was a young lad waiting to use it. He ran after me shouting that I hadn't taken my money with me. I couldn't believe it!! I did nothing but thank him, tears streaming down my face because I'd already had the crappiest of days. I was really lucky that day because I'd just presumed that I had taken the money out, he could of easily of walked off with my money and nothing would of come of it.

Love, love, love these stories!! ☺️

A lovely English couple payed for my breakfast in Schipol Airport when all of the card machines went down - I'd queued for ages and needed to get my flight and had an awful head cold and it was just so appreciated x

A couple of weeks ago DD (3) and I were having a rare mummy daughter day out, and popped to Nando's for lunch with the promise of ice cream at a nearby parlour afterwards. When we were ordering our Nando's DD was excitedly telling the guy on the till all about the ice cream she was getting later, and he was playing along, matching her excitement and saying how much he wished he was getting ice cream etc. and generally being lovely with her.
As soon as we stepped away from till DD asked if we could bring him an ice cream when we went for ours, and kept reminding me all through lunch. When we asked for him by name and she presented him with his wee scoop of chocolate ice cream in a tub I nearly burst - he was properly surprised and had clearly just had his day made, the two of them grinning at each other gave me a warm fuzzy feeling for ages afterwards :)

That is adorable Buffalo, what a kind DD you have

Two which took place in rush hour in central London, a time and location where most people seem to suffer a temporary lapse in humanity. It makes the people who go out of your way for you extra special.

To attend a family funeral I had to make a long cross-country trip by train and a hire car which entailed crossing London in the middle of rush hour with baby DS in a sling, a large bag and a car seat. In crowded tube station a lift was broken resulting in a bit of a crush and we were getting no sympathy from weary commuters when an older man with broken English quietly takes the bag and car seat out of my hands and pushes a route through the crowds. He then asks which train we need - I tell him, he nods and proceeds to carry our things to the right platform - it's one of those stations where it is a huge walk down corridors and up and down stairs. I think how fortunate we were that he was getting the same train as us. When we reach the platform he takes us onto the train, ensures we have a seat and our bags are stowed, then hops off the train as the doors are shutting - it wasn't his train and he'd gone well out of his way for us.

Another time I suffered a crippling attack of endometriosis pain - I was trying to get myself home but nearly collapsed in agony in the middle of a busy street. Whilst people around ignored me a guy from a neighbouring large building site saw me and came out and escorted me off the pavement. He sweet-talked the site security (who was being abit jobsworth about letting me enter the area) into giving up his chair so I could sit, rallied others to fetch me water and some sweets, talked kindly to me until the worst of the pain passed then managed to find the only female worker on site to escort me to the nearby NHS clinic so I could get help. The next day I took a thank you card and box of chocs for him and his colleagues.

I love these!
I remember when I'd just had my twins. I was in the ward and my first twin had already been taken to SCBU, then later that morning my other twin was taken to SCBU, both due to hypoglycaemia. My husband was at home with our older children at the time so I had no one with me, and the two other mums in the ward had their partners with them. I remember just sobbing so hard I literally could not stop and was trying to apologise to the midwives, I was in such a state and felt so lost and alone. The new mum in the bed opposite me just came over and held my hand for about 10 minutes. She was getting ready to go at the time and had just been discharged. But I could hear her say to her partner about me that my babies had both been taken and there was no one with me, so she just came and sat with me and held my hand while I sobbed, and I was trying to say sorry and thank you but didn't make any sense. She then had to go, but that made me feel so acknowledged and touched and not alone. It felt so sincere and gave me strength that morning. I often think of her, and think of the power of humanity. So simple holding another persons hand, not a word spoken, but meant so so much.

These are extraordinary, I wish we could focus on the good things like this rather than the bad.

Reading through them has reminded me of one I've felt thankful for. I was 22 at the time and had just moved into a new house with ExDP of 2 years. Two months in to the one year contract he turns around and says I don't want to be with you anymore turns out he started seeing OW at work whom he later married, friendly terms now. Me being me focused on the practicalities rather than feeling anything at the time so a few days later I set off to the estate agent to try and see what we would need to do to break the lease. As soon as I sat down in the office I couldn't talk I just sobbed, bless the two ladies in the office they took me upstairs out of the main area to make me tea and chat through everything.

I felt so embarrassed at the time but their reassurance that I would be strong enough to get everything sorted was amazing. Restored faith in estate agents to!

spinspinsugar that is so true, I think our actions define us as human, not by words. It's reminded me of an incident quite a few years ago, I was travelling home from work and the car in front of me appeared to be driving erratically. It then struck a traffic island and stopped. I pulled my car off the road and went to investigate. The driver was a teenage boy, probably a very new driver in his first car. He couldn't get out due to the damage to the drivers door so I called the emergency services and then introduced myself, got in the car and started talking rubbish to him to calm him down. He then started crying, big hysterical sobs and said "my mums going to kill me". I reassured him that his mum would not do anything of the sort, and as a mum myself I would only be concerned that my precious child was OK. I took his hand and held it. I then offered to call his mum as he was in no fit state to do so. The fire brigade and ambulance soon arrived and were able to free the young man, he was shocked but unharmed. Mum arrived soon after and saw me stood next to her boy. We looked at each other and no words were exchanged, just a hug from one mum to another.

Such a small thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago but it left me feeling warm and fuzzy for days .

Was rushing around my local supermarket on my way to an afternoon shift at work. Had been having a pretty stressful day. Was tapped on the shoulder my a young lady, early 20's. She said" I just wanted to say you look lovely". I was SO shocked I had to really fight to hold back the tears. I managed to thank her and went about my business smiling for the rest of the day.

It was such a lovely thing to do, I have tried to emulate her kindness by doing something similar most days. People are mostly thrilled although I have had a few suspicious looks😂

Thank you so much for this thread. I haven't posted here in years but just loved reading this yesterday.
On New Years Eve 1999, I was a skint 21 year old with a four year old child, living on my own. All my friends were out partying, bringing in the new millennium and I had stayed in, watching it on the TV. At about 9pm, a neighbour I didn't know very well knocked on. He had realised I was on my own and invited me over to their party. My daughter was in bed, but he said I could wake her up and bring her across to play with his children who were up. I can honestly say, it was the best new year I have ever had and I will never forget my neighbour's kindness. They shared their food & drinks with us all night and just made us feel very welcome.

The reason this thread has helped is that last week, my beautiful sister died suddenly and we have all been devastated. Her son is 5. The kindness people show each other has brought a smile to my face. We have been shown lots of kindness ourselves. Little gestures like a colleague leaving a bar of chocolate on my desk and someone (no idea who) brought our bins back down the drive this week. It's lovely to see how many acts of kindness happen all the time

Ooof. thanks for nice words about 'rose millionaires'. it just poured out when I read the other post about the lovely lad waving to the old lady and it reminded me of how special a friendship between a child and old person can be.
However... without boring you, the rest of my life has not been easy and I'm in an especially tricky bit right now with no income to boot.
Maybe I should try writing a bit more!
MN for giving me a bit of confidence to give it a shot
to FM (my surrogate Granny's initials) for giving me something to write about. She was hugely special.
Glad this has gone to Classics.
The World is a scary place right now and we could all do with remembering its the stuff like this that matters (and stays with us).

Rose millionaires you should definitely write more. Mine is about 13 years ago, I used to get terrible periods, over heat, throw up, incredible pain. I was driving home one day when I had to pull over, jump out and throw up. I was in such a state and u knew I wouldn't be able to drive myself back. Lots of cars driving past me whilst im being ill, one lady stops her car asks me whats wrong, then drives me the rest of the way home. I think she may have given me water to. She helped me so much because although my house wasn't that far away i couldnt have walked or driven myself.

Thank you to everyone who has commented on my kind son (the one who stood at bus stop every day with my two DGDs outside an old lady's house and they became her little surrogate family) Anyone has ever asked me what I would want most for my DCs I have always said 'that they grow up to be kind' Any success, money and so on are all nice but simply bonuses. I would rather be able tell people that my son helped that lonely old lady out or my DD once got two buses leaving her with her last pound and bought me a bar of chocolate with it rather than miss my birthday than tell someone that my son is MD of this company or that , or that big house over there is my DD's (both made up examples) any day.
Kindness is infectious, lets all keep it up and cause a plague of it !!

Work colleague eats his sandwiches at his desk while working at 11:30am then goes out for half an hour at lunch. Always assumed he was just going for some fresh air and a break but he pops by an elderly woman's flat nearby for a cup of tea and reads her the newspaper!

He's been doing it for a few years now since he gave her a hand home from the co-op with her shopping one day.

Think it might be the only regular contact she gets. Makes my eyes fizz just thinking about it.

Spinspin - your story has made me cry. I remember lying in the isolation room (had been transferred from another hospital) after the birth of my twins at 28 weeks. DTDs were in NICU fighting for their lives, I was in pain from my C-section and very emotional. I had to lie there listening to the other babies on the maternity ward crying, and the mothers chatting. The ache to hold my babies was overwhelming, and my ex was over an hour's drive away at home. It would've been so comforting if someone had held my hand, I've never felt so alone in my life. I'm so glad someone was there for you .

My 8 year old DS seems to be turning out to be one of these lovely people. He was playing football this morning (quite a crucial match) and one of the other team had a nasty fall, ds pegged it up the pitch whilst shouting for me to get his drink for the other boy, he was over there before all of us really clocked what had happened. DS was comforting the poor little lad and wiping up a cut lip with his top and sat patting his back while the coach checked the other boy.

Hes devestated he didnt score a goal today but doesn't quite get that he showed such kindness and care and that's why everyones proud.

No need to track him down, just pay it forward.

When I was about 20 a man jus stepped off the pavement right in front of my car - up onto the bonnet, smashed windscreen and I stopped just short of running over the top of him. It was just awful, I was so shocked and scared. A witness stopped to help and to speak to the police to say that there was nothing I could have done. I was breathalysed & questioned but even the poor man I hit was telling them that it was not my fault. He had a broken leg and a broken arm but later sent his dad round to our house to ask whether my sister & I were alright. So honest & kind.

Fedup
Oh hell that made me year up no end. I would be so grateful if someone did that for one of my boys when they are old enough to drive. [Flowers]

This thread is such a tonic after reading the one about how vile people can be to perfect strangers.

Hardly ever on mn but this thread has me in tears.

On holiday in Spain at Christmas and had bag stolen on beach. All cards and money gone. I hardly speak any Spanish but managed to ask downstairs neighbour (who barely spoke English) where police station was. She offered to drive DH to police station and spent an hour there with him sorting things out. Meanwhile her partner took my 3 DCs in and gave them pens and paper to keep them entertained while I rang round to cancel cards. They called the locksmith and had all our apartment keys replaced and wouldn't let us pay. The next day we took a bottle of wine round to say thank you and they asked us to come in and share it with them.

I was in adifferent part of the country getting on a bus the other day and asked for a return which was £7.50. I only had a £20 note. If I'd gone off for change I'd have to wait 30mins for the next bus. I asked the couple behind me if they had 2x £10. They didn't....but did pay my fare for me.

Also I don't know why London commuters have such a poor reputation.Not only have I been helped with luggage on the tube, but when I had surgery on my knee last year and was using a crutch on my return to work, I always had the offer of a seat on the tunbe.

Sorry...the driver didn't have change for the £20