Random Acts of Kindness

K

KokosMomMom

New Member
Have you been on either end of a random act of kindness? Do you feel comfortable sharing it with us?

I have had two situations within the past couple years that just brought tears to my eyes and had me reassess my overall view of the younger generation. Two years ago I underwent surgery and on the way home had my friend (an elderly woman) stop at Walmart to get my prescriptions. She drove up next to the door so I didn't have far to hobble to the scooter. A young man, no more than 25 saw me struggling to get out of the car and immediately came over and offered an arm and nearly carried me to the scooter and offered to go through the store with me to help me get things off the top shelves. After thanking him profusely I explained I was only going to the pharmacy and off he went. I never got the chance to get his name but he will forever stick out in my mind.

Just last week I was sitting with the same friend at Ihop eating breakfast. At the table behind us was a rather rowdy group of teenagers, well all except one. I could hear him telling his friends to quiet down and be respectful of the others in the restaurant, and to even watch their language in mixed company. I didn't believe that young men like this still existed! Just as we were having our last cup of coffee they left; when we signaled our waitress for our bill she came over and handed us a piece of paper we could only assume was our bill. In actuality it was a note from the young man apologizing for his friends having ruined our breakfast and closed by saying "Your meal is paid for; it's the least I can do." As you can imagine, that brought tears to my eyes.
 

Those are very nice stories. :love_heart: I don't have any to share that I can think of, but I'm always touched even when someone holds the door open for me. I was raised to automatically be polite and do those things without even thinking...but I notice too often that folks young and older have no manners and are often rude. I'd love to see more good things going on.
 
Those stories are so heartfelt. Regarding the sweet teenager, what an awesome display of generosity. That's how my wife and I are raising our children. Yes, those types of children still exist!
 

And it is families like yours that make me proud to be of our generation; those who raise their children properly actually show respect for humanity because they still care enough to pass it on. Thank you!
 
It's nice to hear stories like yours! When I was young I always opened doors for older people or offered them my chair or shoveled their sidewalk. It's nice to hear that their are still thoughtful young people around! I've had pretty good luck myself. It was a bit uncomfortable the first few times that a young person held a door open for me but now I just smile and say, "Thank you!"
 
The other day, I was having trouble backing my car into my apartment garage. Somehow, I just couldn't get it aim straight, going backwards, in order to back it in straight. And I have to back my car into the garage, otherwise, I am backing out blind into my apartment building's parking lot's driveway. So, a man came over to help me and guide me. He even offered to back in and park my car for me. But I did manage to do it myself - with his guidance. I have backed in my car many times before but somehow, just couldn't do it that day. I really appreciated his help, his kindness and his smile.

After I parked my car, a young mother, carrying her baby in a baby seat was trying to keep her 3 year old daughter from wandering off into the middle of the parking lot. The 3 year old then somehow managed to get her shoe caught in the big grate that covers the drain hole, which is located on the driveway between the rows of parked cars. So, I stopped to help this mother with her daughter. This girl's shoe was wedged in tight, in a twisted way which meant the girl couldn't stand up. The mother had her hands full with the baby and now, also with trying to get her daughter's foot freed from the grate and off the driveway. I was able to get the girl's foot out of the shoe and then was able to pull the shoe out of the grate. My mother and I were able to get the girl safely to their car.

I was glad I could pay it forward after someone helped me.
 
I once went through a Starbucks drive through. I placed my order and proceeded to the window to pay for it and pick it up....where I was told that the car ahead of me had already paid for it! I never even saw who it was....they were gone! :) It caused me to want to do it for someone else....so I passed the "blessing" along next time I went through the line! FUN!!!:eek:
 
When my son was around 11 (and starting to wonder), the school bus bully very nicely informed all the smaller children there was no Santa Claus.

I knew I was pushing the limits of "yes there is Santa" and I could tell by the tone of "mom?" when Erik finally broached the subject that night, something serious was about to come out of his mouth. Indeed, he was distraught at this revelation and was it true?

I quickly replied "yes and no. No there is not a physical Santa Claus that covers the earth in a sleigh on Christmas Eve. Yes, there is a Santa in every person's heart if they let Santa be there".

Now the poor kid is really confused and I wasn't quite sure where I was going with that profound statement but I was up to my knees in snow and had to dig myself out:playful:

Trying to quickly gather some positive thinking, I said "for example our neighbors have less than we do (I was a single mom at that time), their grandma has cancer and will not live to see her grandchildren open their presents" (we were already just passed Thanksgiving).

"If you're interested in giving up something for yourself for Christmas, you and I can be their Santa".

Erik's eyes lit up and to my amazement he asked how soon we could go shopping and would he be able to pick out the children's gifts?

Watching my young son give up something for himself and diligently look for just the right "gifts from Santa" for those two children was amazing and not without some tears. He asked me to wrap them so they would look like Santa did them. I had bought a turkey and some wine for the mom and her boyfriend. We waited until they left for Christmas Eve church services before walking down our snow-covered road with Santa's gifts.

I found out many years later, she always suspected who Santa really was and how very much she appreciated the gesture. Her mom did pass two days before Christmas.

It was a lesson in giving for my son and an unexpected lesson in humility for me - I owed that school bus bully in ways that he would never know, nor be smart enough to ever understand if I did try to explain it.
 
I try to be kind to people on a regular basis. It creates a good connection with the world. Those who are responsive keep my faith in humanity alive. Those who do not . . . well, F' 'em... HA!
 


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