Story Weekend: Random Acts of Kindness
This weekend’s theme: Random Acts of Kindness. It’s a great topic, suggested by one of my Facebook friends. Write whatever true little (and I do mean little!) story pops into your mind. Something you did. Something someone else did for you. Something you witnessed. I can’t wait to read what you come up with.
If you’re new to Story Weekend, here’s how it works: I pick a theme and you share something from your life that relates to that theme, however you interpret it. Thanks to all of you who’ve been contributing. As always, there are a few “rules”:
▪ The story must be true.
▪ Try to keep it under 100 words. Embrace the challenge! That’s about six or seven lines in the comment form. I want others to read your story, and most people tend to skip if it’s too long. I know how tough it is to “write tight” but I hope you’ll accept this as a challenge.
▪ Avoid offensive language.
Have a good weekend, and if you have no story about a Random Act of Kindness, maybe you can make one happen!
My stepdaughter Caitlin is a Starbucks addict like her step momma and she likes going through the drive-thru. Every once in a while, when she gets to the window, she pays for the order of the car behind her as well as her own. I love it. I love imagining the surprise of those people when the barista gives them the news. I picture the smile that come to their lips each time they remember their trip through the drive-thru. I think I’ll follow Caitlin’s example some time this week. A simple way to lift someone’s day.
At Wal Mart the other day a woman didn’t have enough money to pay for her groceries and as she was picking things to put back a man handed the cashier his credit card and said he would pay for it. The woman was nearly in tears and she thanked him repeatedly. All he said was “don’t worry about it, have a nice day.” The man’s mother was with him and she was moved to tears as well over the kindness her son showed this random woman. I was touched that such human kindness still exists.
I work in a small library branch with 4 other employees. We have some wonderful patrons and we try out best to give the best customer service possible but we do work with the public so some days are better than others. The other day we each received a Thank You card with $20 in it from a patron that thanked us for our kindness and helpfulness and told us that “lunch is on my wife and I” and to “enjoy”. Wow! We were all soooo surprised! Its so great to have a job you love.
A couple weeks ago I had a meeting at Starbucks and my credit card fell out of my pocket. A man nearby picked it up and chased me down to give it back to me. I tried to buy him a coffee but he refused saying he would hope someone would do the same for him. That could have ended terribly but instead it made my day!
Both the above stories made me smile. I pay for people behind me if I can, it’s an easy way to brighten someone’s day!
I live in Johannesburg South Africa; last week i was standing in a supermarket queue and a young black gentleman behind me let an old white lady go ahead of him. I told him I thought that was kind of him and he said “she is old and you always respect your elders” A small act of kindness but huge in our country.
Have you ever woke up in just a bad mood? Maybe you you were just mad at the world, wanted to kick your cat. And then you come across someone who is just plain nice to you. Someone who makes you smile and glad that you had dealings with them this day. I can remember how that made me feel. How that one act of kindness brightened my day. I remember telling my husband how it changed my day. In response, it was contagious. When you make someone smile, you can almost guarantee that it will spread. A random act of kindness does not have to be monetary in nature. It can be a person on the other end of the phone that is glad to help you solve a problem. Maybe it is someone who tells you how much you are appreciated and you know they mean it. When someone makes you feel better about yourself for no apparent reason at all. That is a random act of kindness,. And paying that forward is a very easy thing to do.
I lost my dad too young at 59 while I was 21 and pregnant with my first and not a day goes by when I don’t miss miss him. Years after that sad day dad’s sister passed as well also very young at 55 and my uncle going through her papers found letters my dad had written to his sister when he was 21. They predated his meeting my mother and my uncle bundled them up and sent them to me here with a note that just said. ‘thought you might like these’. The absolute joy of being able to touch those words his hand had written, to wander in the days of his youth,to read his unique brand of humour when myaunt described my grand ma’s dismay at her perxoiding her hair::} and to hear him speak with a voice that was of a boy growing into a man was priceless. There are no profound truths to be found in those letters, just a brother and a sister teasing each other and talking about the boys and girls that took their fancy at that time. A glimpse into the glory that was my dad’s youth. I treasure them.
Sheree, That is so so special…I can only imagine how wonderful that made you feel. If you were granted just one wish, there are so many things that pop into your mind..but on the top of that list…would be to hear my dads voice and laugh one more time..I imagine this was just that for you.
Thank you Cindy. You are very kind. I gues I felt like an orphan when I lost my dad, not that I didn’t have a good mom but she wasn’t Him:}. Lucky for us, Love lives forever:}
The pharmacist at my drug store is usually grumpy and can be rude when she has a long line. I used to dread going to her counter. The other day I was in the store shopping, and she came up to me in the aisle and asked me to stop back at the pharmacy when I was through. I wondered what I had done wrong. When I got back to her counter she handed me a pink ribbon key chain (I’m a breast cancer survivor and I always wear things with pink ribbons). I couldn’t believe she thought of me, or even noticed. She really made my day and changed my perception of her.
Our granddaughter told us about going to visit her friend in Florida and the two locked themselves out of the apartment. They were unsuccessful in finding anyone around who could help. With much trepidation they flagged down a motorist. He had them in the door in no time. They offered him money, then food, to no avail. He hopped in his truck and yelled “pay it forward.” That same day an elderly gentleman backed into the tailgate of my husband’s truck. He was obviously nervous and as he fumbled for his insurance card my husband told him to forget about it and to have a nice day. We laughingly call it our mercy ding.
It was the first year my oldest daughter started kindergarten. Living in Canada our winter’s can be awfully cold and so each day we would bundle up and make our way to the bus stop, where we would shiver and wait for it to arrive. There was a little girl who would be there each day, she had to be about 9-10 years old. Her hair was never tidy, she never smiled, and worse she never had a coat. I would stand there watching her thinking how cold she must be and wondering where were her parents and how could they let her out of the house like that? At the time I did not have a lot of money. I was a 19 year old single mom living on student loans, but this child stayed in my mind all day, I could not get her out of my head. So, one day I went to the second hand store and bought her a jacket. My daughter and I handed it to her the next day without a word. She looked up at me and simple said “thank you”. She smiled a smile that I will never forget. It spoke to my heart and in the end the blessing was mine.
Many years ago, what was supposed to have been a happy day for me turned into darkness when my baby girl died at birth. The hospital placed me in a room with four other patients to recover. I was lying there, fighting back the tears when an elderly gentleman, who was visiting one of the other patients, came over to me, squeezed my hand, and began talking to me. The words he spoke were the most comforting words I have ever heard. He didn’t know me, he didn’t have to do it, but he did.
Nancy, I’m so sorry about your loss. And I’m grateful to that elderly man–one of those rare people who seemed to know how to help at such a difficult time. It’s always hard to know what to say and how to help. I’m glad he was there for you at just the right moment.
Thanks, Diane. You, too, are good with words…
i was babysittin my friends children with my daughter the younger 2 were in bed and my daughter was gettin very over excited couldn’t sit still and was driving me crazy the 11yr old boy i was lookin after said can he make her some toast and took her out to kitchen and sat and talked with her to give me some peace i thought that was so sweet
A few months ago someone stole my wallet. He took the money and dropped it somewhere in the city. A guy found it and he saw that I had everything inside, ID card, drivers licence, credit cards. On my drivers licence is my old home address. He went there and waited under the building until someone came out. He asked if I was still there. The woman who came out is an old friend and she gave him my work address. Two days after I lost my wallet I had it back, minus the money. I offered him a reward, but he said that a coffee would be enough. We had a coffee and I never saw him again
At the Apple Pan in LA, we sat munching burgers whist I was heavily pregnant with twin boys. The old diner was packed apart from one stool beside us. A small elderly couple came through the door; my husband stood up to free his seat and waved them over. We chatted a little before we finished our meal and prepared to leave. “This one’s on us,” said the gent, reaching for our check. “You’ll do it for someone someday.” It was sweet and joyous. Our boys are three now, but when restaurants become part of our vocabulary again ;), we will certainly enjoy paying it forward.
Gary did not know her but knew she was his wifes friend who needed help. With very little possessions due to a bad husband and a bad divorce, she moved in with her sister but had no transportation or much else. Gary’s heart opened up and told his wife to bring her to our home as he had something for her. When she arrived, my precious husband gave her keys to our spare car which held a full tank of gas. On the seat of the car was an envelope where she later opened and found $200.00. We gave her blankets and other items. Would Gary give the last dollar from his billfold to help someone…yes, I’ve seen it happen.
You have a prize in Gary, Margo.
A little old lady got on my bus one day, the buses had changed recently to exact fare, she wasnt aware of this and didnt have the exact change, bus driver was very rude to her and I felt disgusted at the way he was treating her, so I went up to him, paid her fare and told her to go and take a seat, she thanked me over and over again, I told her to just do something nice for someone, pay it forward, but she insisted in giving me the money, so not only did I get my money back, I made a profit, ooops !!
Thank you. I knew that about him the night I met him.
My husband and I both believe in enjoying life as much as possible as well as in being nice to the people we come in contact with. A couple of years ago we were at a beloved state park with a spectacular waterfall and stopped for a late lunch at the restaurant & brew pub outside the park. They were busy, but there was still space for one more group. We got good service under the circumstances and enjoyed talking with the friendly waitress. After a nice lunch, we asked for the check and said asked us to give her a minute. When she brought it, it was marked paid. She told us it had been a bad weekend with lots of obnoxious visitors coming in from the park. It seemed like everyone was crabby. That morning she had decided in rebellion to pay the check for the nicest, friendliest guests who came in and we’d been them w/o a doubt. We were stunned! We were just being who we normally are. But it was more proof to us that it never hurts to be nice to others!
A friend with four children whose husband had lost his job was talking to me one day during the early holiday season and mentioned that they were probably not going to have a Christmas tree because they couldn’t afford it. That night my husband and I went out and bought a tree and left it on their doorstep for them to find the next morning. She never knew who did it but she mentioned to me how much it meant to her kids to have that tree when they thought they weren’t going to have one that year.
Another random act by my husband this time. We were having breakfast at McDonalds one Sunday morning when a guy clearly down on his luck came in. All he could get was coffee, I mentioned this to my husband who had his back to him and couldn’t see him. My husband promptly got up and took the guy to the counter and told him to order whatever he wanted. On our way out my husband laid a $20 bill on the table for him too.
My 7 year old grandson asked for a popular Wii game for Christmas and was thrilled when he received the gift. During the 12 Days of Christmas, Seth received additional figures that went with the game and one day he received a duplicate piece. When it was suggested that he return it for a figure he did not already have, Seth shared that a classmate of his had also requested the game for Christmas but had not received it so he was going to give him the duplicate figure instead of returning it for another. Seth’s sensitivity and awareness of the disappointment of his less fortunate classmate deeply touched me!
Thank you for sharing these heartfelt memories! They made my day.