The Holidays either bring out the worst or the best in people.

I’ve spent the majority of today helping my mother finish some errands that she needed to get done ahead of Christmas.

After being met with ‘Fuck you, bitch’ and ‘Get out of my way, idiot’ in store, being cut off in traffic and having people flash me the middle finger while driving, having someone berate me because they didn’t like my park job, I was tired. So tired. I didn’t want to be out anymore. Grumpy people are exhausting on regular days, but when there’s so very many of them out this time of year, it’s exhausting to try and deal with.

My mother and I went into Winners for the last stop of the day and she wanted to get one pair of sweatpants for each of her sons. (She does it every year) I was just excited that it was the last stop of the day.

With four items in tow, we approached the till and it was quite a long line with only one physical till open.The woman who walked up behind us appeared to only be purchasing a coffee mug and she had a toddler who was begging her to go and whining that they didn’t want to be in the store anymore.

My mom offered that she go in front of us because, while it wasn’t a big difference in time, it was just that much faster. The woman said thank you, went in front and then she asked my mom who she was buying for. My mom told her she has four sons and she buys them one nice pair of sweatpants every year instead of pajamas. They went on to chat for a couple of minutes while they waited for their turns in line at the till and I just stood there awkwardly left out of their conversation just lurking.

When we got up to the till the cashier scanned through each pair of the pants, she pushes a couple of buttons on the till and then says ‘I owe you $14.90’.

What?

My mom and I were both incredibly confused.

The cashier said ‘The woman in line in front of you gave me a $100 bill and asked that I use it to pay for your clothing, give you any change that is left over, and wish you a merry Christmas… so, MERRY CHRISTMAS!’ she said.

Wow.

It was such a shock and a huge deal for my mom. She’s basically been budgeting since August for Christmas and the woman in line in front of us paid for our gifts out of goodness and kindness and sheer shock! She didn’t stick around to see the look on my mom’s face or anything. We couldn’t even say thank you. By the time we learned the woman in front of us had paid for my mom’s gifts, she’d long since gone.

Today’s been such a weird day. I was totally hating on humanity for all of the ugly behaviour I saw this morning and afternoon at our various stops of the day, and then this woman comes along and pays for Christmas gifts for my mom ‘just because’ and totally turns my whole mood for the day around.

To the kindest of strangers, thank you. Just being able to keep that extra $100 in her bank account, for my mom this time of year, means a great deal to her. I wish I could have stopped and thanked you in person.

79 thoughts on “The Holidays either bring out the worst or the best in people.”

  2. That is such a beautiful ending to your day! Such a kind gesture! I have had some horrendous experiences this holiday season (including having a cashier tell me I was an “over-privileged white bitch”). People like the one who paid for your mom’s gifts, are what the world needs more of! I am happy to hear your mom was blessed with that gift!

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      1. They should no matter where you live, if you treat a customer like that. HOWEVER, sadly, many people consider it “racist” to fire someone who isn’t white now a days 😦 It’s a frustrating circle. I am not racist, I don’t care the colour of your skin, if you treat me like crap and your job is in customer service, I expect you to be dealt with in a fair way.

        Like

    1. There are some really kind people in this world, people like the woman we briefly encountered today and who changed my mom’s entire Christmas with one gesture. Some people do good just to do good and they don’t want or expect anything from it. And this woman, she definitely deserves someone to do some good for her now!

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  12. Wow the universe definitely hears us and turned your day into something good 💖 I love those inspiring stories. This is beautiful! I remember that my brother got money on Christmas too once when he was little from a man from USA. Just because it’s Christmas and he found my brother cute 😍

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      2. Oh, that’s good that you weren’t involved. Being in traffic is never fun but at least your kiddo was sleeping. Bet that made it easier than if they were screaming at you that they wanted to go home. lol

        Liked by 1 person

  22. First , you are such a sweetheart to share your story with us. Second, often humans can be so surprising, I really have so much hope in human kind! More then often I wonder how we will evolve in 1000 years. ♥️ Anyway, have a wonderful Christmas with your beautiful mom and family! 🎉🎉🎉❤️

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  23. You’re right, Christmas brings out the best and worst in folk. Here in the UK the shops are crazy right now, people buying food like it’s going out of fashion, loading up with more stuff than they can possibly eat. Lots of it will inevitably get thrown away. And yet, at the same time, charities do very well at this time of year, people giving money to good causes rather than wasting it on meaningless conspicuous consumption. What a mixed up world we live in. Have a great Christmas, V, and here’s hoping that 2020 is a better year for you 🙂

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    1. Thank you, my dear platypus. I hope that you and Mrs. Platypus have a wonderful Christmas as well ❤
      You're a wonderful soul and I know there's nothing but good and more travels coming for you in the year ahead.

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  25. Wow, paying it forward is such a nice thing. We have had it happen once. We were so embarrassed by it we could not accept. We just saying thank you, thank you.

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      1. Giving V is the most potent spiritual law of success. Whatever we want we need to give. And we get back much more. Love, Respect, Appreciation, Money ….
        Your mom gave a little courtesy and got much more. This works always.
        Yesterday I attended long Christmas meditation at our center in my city, Pune – India 😊

        Like

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  30. How lovely! I won’t lie and say that your post didn’t bring tears to my eyes. Such a simple act of kindness warms my near-dead heart – especially at this time of year when “the most wonderful time of the year” brings the nastiest of trolls out from wherever they hide throughout the rest of the year.

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    1. There definitely are some nasties out there this time of year. Hopefully there’s more people like the woman we met at Winners to remind us all to maintain our faith in humanity ❤

      Liked by 1 person

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