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).

I was waiting for the bus when I realised I'd left my pass at home. I didn't have much change on me (about £1.50 which wasn't enough for where I was going). A fellow passenger I knew to say hello to asked me if I was ok so I told her what had happened and that I'd flag down a black cab and stop at the cash machine. I said she could hitch a ride as she usually got off where I did. She said rather than wasting money I could use her pass and she'd pay her fair as she was only going 3-4 stops. So I insisted that I'd pay her bus fair as I had enough for a small journey but she refused. I saw her having a meal with her family one night so I sent over drinks and desserts.

Bahhhhhhhumbug
Your story about the old lady and your son made me think of my childhood.
We were incredibly poor. Not enough to eat, no money for the meter, for wellies /proper winter coats etc. My parents worked hard but it was a hard time for them, with illness, and bad luck etc.
But, we had this HUGE yellow rose bush in the garden which covered an entire high wall and flowered all summer. Scented golden roses.
We had roses to rival the Queen, roses to spare, we were rose millionaires :)
We lived in a terrace with long very narrow gardens -you could almost touch your neighbours. I noticed an old lady alone often and asked my Mum if I could take her a rose as she looked lonely? I was 6.
I took her that Rose and she became my surrogate Grandma.
She loved my visits, which I did every single Sunday. As I got older I would fetch her things from the Shop and make her a cup of tea. I persuaded her to have a Budgie, and got her one, and a cage, and she loved it so very much - she said, she now 'had company when I was at School'. She died when I was 15 and I was devastated.
What she never really knew is, given half my family was estranged, the Granny was a nasty drunk and I was being abused by another family member, she meant more to me than the Good Fairy in my fairytale book. We baked, she let me watch: 'Black Beauty' on her tv while we had the sandwiches and cake we'd made, she bought me pop from the pop man, she made me a ballet dress so I could twirl around her tiny sitting room. Little things that meant the world. She turned a small part of my childhood into that scented Golden Rose I'd given her - my little whim as a 6 year old was returned a thousandfold to me. I'll never forget her.

Just a small one, happened this morning. My Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year.

We though it would be a pretty quick and steady decline, particularly after chemo failed to do anything and he chose palliative treatment alone. But he's been doing really well and suprised as all with being pretty ok at Christmas.

Sadly he's seem to have taken a real turn for the worse and his rate of decline has been steeper than I was expecting given our adjsuted view of his disease progression. This has knod of knocked me for six in the most unexpected, yet expected ways and I'm struggling. Had a weepy day in work yesterday which I tried to conceal- but easier said then done. This morning I came to work to find a kind note and biscuits in my pigeon hole- just a small thing but really touched me

Worship, that made me 😢

When our 2 boys were young, about age 5 and 8, they were playing out and saw our very elderly nextdoor neighbour (who was lovely) walking down our road carrying two heavy shopping bags; without any prompting from me, they ran up to her and insisted on carrying her bags. I welled up watching them, especially the youngest, as the bag was nearly as big as him!!

Was once on a trip to a foreign city where my dh was working. I had been out with them all day and was very tired and cold. I saw a lady lurking near the lifts and she made a beeline for me looking like she wanted a favour. I was too tired to help her but plastered on a smile so as not to seem rude. She gave me some tickets to an expensive exhibition that she had no time to go to as she said she understood that trips with children are so expensive. We went the next day and dd and I loved it and talk about it all the time! So thoughtful. Lovely thread.

rose millionaires

😍😭 There's a book in there Worship. Beautiful. You'll have lit up her life and brought her great comfort too.

rose millionaires

Bloody hell Worship I am in bits here sitting outside school. So glad she was in your life x

This thread is truly wonderful and should be in classics. It's brightened my day!

These stories are so wonderful. Worship, that's got me sobbing. I'm so glad that you had her

Yes, I'd buy those book rights in a flash if I were in the business, Worship! It's a film or a telly one-off as well. Beautiful story and you tell it so well. I can see those roses.

Aww thats lovely, OP. I was in a shop a christmas or two ago and a lady in front of me was trying to pay for something, but was 6p or 11p short. She was frantically looking through her bag for any spare money; her teenage son had her bank card so she couldn't get any cash out, so I just gave her the money. It was only a tiny amount, but the relief on her face was huge. It was a nice feeling for me afterwards too

Years and years ago I was an 18 year old working in DC (during the Kenneth Starr trial) & I got horribly mixed up with the metro times & realised the trains had stopped for the night. I had no cash on me, just a metro ticket & no idea what to do.

I was at the Capitol and was living in Arlington.I was absolutely beside myself when a very very smart lady approached me and asked where I was trying to get to. I explained and she handed me $40 (a lot of money now but an incredible amount back then).

I had to accept it & asked for her address but she said no, someone had once get her home safely and when I was able I should help someone else.

Just back on to confirm to tricky cat that I am indeed Scottish and frequently to be found in a fankle.

I have had a couple of random acts of kindness.

When dd was tiny, about 3 months old my ex came home drunk and started being violent. I shot out of the house in trousers and a top and phoned the police. Because it was dv and because I was 'safe' I wasn't a priority so was stood shivering in the street with her in my arms for ages. I was just up the road from our house. Didn't know anyone as we had only moved in a few months before.

A lady kept looking at me and dd and after half an hour came out to see if I was ok. Made me go in their house and made me a cup of tea. Her dh left the room so I could feed dd and they were just generally lovely. Police took about another hour to come and I felt awful for gatecrashing their Friday evening but it was so cold and dd was getting cold.

Another time I broke down up in north yorkshire. Absolute cock end of no where and no mobile signal. Managed to freewheel it downhill to a house I had passed and knocked on the door to ask if I could possibly use their phone to contact AA. It was a farm and farmer and his son mended my car and then followed me about 30 miles to Pickering to make sure I was ok and back in civilisation if it broke again.

I do try and pay stuff forward tho. Found a handbag hung on a trolley last Christmas. About 2 weeks before. Handed it in at customer services. As I was walking out lady said 'Oh there she is' to the lady whose handbag it was. She was inconsolable that I had found it. It had her dhs wages in and all her love to shop vouchers for her dcs Christmas presents. Tried to get me to take some money for finding it and everything but I obviously wouldn't. She was so grateful it almost made me cry.

Just love these threads. Thank you everyone for sharing

I've had car park charges paid for me too, in a time of stress, and real kindnesses shown from the most unexpected people.

Oh and there were three times when exH was being abusive on the street, one of them when he knocked me down. In all, people approached to help. On two occasions they called the police and left their details. One testified in court.

I was sitting on a packed commuter train when I got the message that a close friend had died. She was terminally ill and in palliative care at that stage but the shock knocked me sideways.

I was in pieces, just hardly able to breathe through the snot and tears. An absolutely wonderful woman who was sitting opposite me silently gave me a tissue (everyone else was very British and averted their eyes.)

I got off at the next stop - not my stop and she got off with me. Not her stop either and hugged me and gave me more tissues until I had managed to get myself together. She then got back on the train with me and sat and held my hand until I got to my stop - which was beyond her stop.

I was so much in pieces that I don't think I even got her name. But I can picture her now and will never forget that amazing act of kindness.

That and threads like this have I hope me a better person and I pay it forward whenever I can.

I had someone do something similar for me when DD was a newborn. Wandered into town in sleep deprived haze in an attempt to get my rather pissed off baby to sleep and when I went to pay for my shopping (a pizza and 2 boxes of formula) I realised I'd forgotten my purse.. a lovely lady in the que behind me paid and then got me a coffee.. 2 years later we are still in touch. I was able to return the favour to someone in a similar situation a few weeks ago and the girl cried. I did the same took her for a coffee after and had a chat about how shit it can be in those first few weeks.

Thank you all for contributing. I've been struck down with a d&v bug today and all of your stories have cheered me up

l'm not on here every day, but the other evening while l was having a look on the threads, l noticed a little "bell" icon on "My Mumsnet."
l didn't know what it was, so clicked on it to investigate. lt was from a very kind soul on here who had actually sent the message in response to a post l'd commented on before Christmas, about being unemployed and struggling a bit financially.
This lovely lady had messaged me to ask if l had a paypal account as she wanted to send me "a little something to get a few treats for Christmas."
l'm absolutely mortified that l didn't see it earlier, and l really hope she doesn't think l'm ignorant or ungrateful. She's a complete stranger, and she didn't have to offer, but l was humbled and very touched that someone would do that.
So, if she's reading this, l want to say a huge thank you to her (l did send a reply the other night but l don't know if she's seen it). As soon as l'm able, l will pass the kindness on to someone else in return for her thinking of me. For me, it's the small things like this that we need to keep us going sometimes. Anyone who's ever done anything like this, thank you. We don't always realise how much a kindness can affect someone, or how difficult things are for them at the time. x

A few years ago when DD1 was a toddler, I had awful toothache, and had gone to a friend's house to cadge some strong painkillers. Was feeling ok, so walking back to my house (30 minute walk) with DD1 in park, when suddenly felt awful, had to stop, couldn't move any further. Was sitting on pavement next to the buggy when a lady pulled up to check I was ok, and offered to drive us home, which I gratefully accepted. I sent her some flowers to say thank you. A few years later, I discovered that she was the mother of my new hairdresser, who is equally lovely

That is so weird. I was putting the bins out -having a fag- and a deaf guy appeared with a note saying he was paying for a course and had no job. I can sign a bit and I think I said hold on a moment. I may have said I have 16 rabbits but he got the gist so I gave him every bit of money in my pockets. Probably about £5.

We never get people at the door as we live in a naice semi rural place so very unlikely to be a scam as he signed back. I wish I could sign a bit better so we could have had a chat.

On some forum somewhere he is probably saying some weird woman who had clearly been crying (because of this thread) and secretly smoking told me she had 16 rabbits and then gave me lots of loose change.

What a beautiful thread. Brightened up my otherwise gloomy day. Wonderful to see so many tales of human kindness. 😊