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.
That is awesome!
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It was so awesome ❤ Thank you!
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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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How on earth does a cashier get off saying that? You’d be fired if you said that to someone around here who was a customer…
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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.
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Wow. That’s amazing kindness. The holidays can bring out the best in people, indeed.
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It was a truly wonderful and very generous surprise from a kind stranger.
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There is always a bit of joy to be found if we try. Glad you had such a wonderful end to a rotten day 🙂
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It was a very wonderful thing to completely turn my day around. There are some really kind people in this world.
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This is absolutely delightful.
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It really, really was!
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I’m so blown away; I can’t fathom people speaking to strangers that way.
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There are some ornery people in this world. It’s a good thing there are some kind people who balance out that nastiness!
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A ray of sunshine always follows the stormy day.
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Maybe not always, but it definitely did today!
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Wow. That’s really lovely. I’m tearing up a little.
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It was a very lovely end to a very stressful day!
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Wow!! That’s amazing V and no wonder your mum was so happy. You just don’t get that every day, do you? lol. There’s still a lot of good people out there and it restores your faith in humanity 🙂
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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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…good edit.
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I haven’t the foggiest idea what you’re speaking of.
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I love this story. All about the kindness. My good deed was gifting a fellow blogger an e copy of a book she wanted but couldnt afford. I had the money, so why not?
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Santa goes by the name of Jonny this year!
That’s incredibly kind of you, my friend. What a good soul you are!
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Haha thanks. It wasnt a lot but it was what I could do.
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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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Awe! That’s kind of an adorable story! Your brother must’ve been a super cute kid!
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Totally unexpected…!!
Wow… It’s your Santa
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She kinda was our own version of Santa today. I like that!
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Aww that’s a great story, thanks for sharing!! This time of the year, people really do show their true colors.
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Yes! Hopefully there’s a lot more good in this world than bad! ❤
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Wow!
Sort makes you know that there are some kind, decent people still on planet earth. Just one act of kindness from your mother and the reaping comes in full!
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I know my mom will pay it forward five-fold! People deserve it.
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You are right…the worst and the best comes out this time of year! I am glad you had an experience with one of the “best!”
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I sure did. Feeling very grateful for that, too!
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What an awesome story. Lovely to hear that things like this still happen. I love random acts of kindness 😊
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It gives you hope in people ❤
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Oh bless that is so sweet!
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Right? Definitely brightened my whole day and Christmas spirit.
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What a lovely story!
What a lovely lady!
I’m really glad I read this today.
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Thank you for reading! She really was such a lovely woman. I wish I could tell her thank you in person. But, since I can’t, all I can do is pay it forward.
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This story really warms my heart after spending 1h in a mental Christmas shopping traffic jam with two accidents yesterday afternoon. -Jenni
Read my holiday wishes in blog: https://ionimage.nl/happy-holidays-from-i-on-image-2019/
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Oh goodness, two accidents? Hopefully not involving you!
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Oh no, we were just stuck in traffic and well. My 5yo was snoring in the back 🙂
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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
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What an amazing thing to happen!! Just wonderful 🙂🙂😘
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It was pretty wonderful. It was a great reminder that there’s still some really kind people in this world.
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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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I hope that you have a wonderful Christmas as well ❤ Sending you the best!
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It was amazing. Thanks! Wish you this year to enjoy all your projects, success where you persevere and resilience in less good times. ❤️
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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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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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Wow, moments like these (and after a very bad day) really does give some hope for humanity. Thank you for sharing ❤️
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It really does ❤
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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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Awe ❤
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That is such a wow story and I can relate to it completely. Merry Christmas 🎄 🌸🌹🤗
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Thank you<3 It was a pretty amazing moment. Merry Christmas to you, my friend.
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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 😊
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Some gifters want to remain anonymous, as they believe a good deed should be done mainly in the eyes of God. That’s a wonderful blessing for your mom. Merry Christmas!
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Well if that was her motivation then I’m sure she’s scoring brownie points with the big man upstairs. Thank you for reading ❤
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YAY! There’s hope for us 🙂
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Yes there is ❤
The human race still has some good in it!
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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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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 ❤
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What a great moment! Wish I could have been there!God bless all of you . Merry Christmas!
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Merry Christmas to you, my dear ❤
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Its great to know there is still kindness in this cruel world! I am so happy for your mom ❤️🙌🏾
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Thank you for reading ❤ I hope your path crosses with someone so wonderful as well so you can experience the goodness. Have a Merry Christmas ❤
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You as well!! Happy Holidays 🎄❤️
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aw, this post made me cry happy tears. I love good people
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Aren’t they just the best? I wish there was more niceness and kindness and goodness in this world.
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Some people are really angels in human form.
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I found myself questioning if you truly live in Canada at the start of this story. By the end I was wanting to move there. Thank you for the big smile you just put on my face.
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Aweeeee ❤
As much as we try to hide it, some Canadians are assholes. Luckily though, as my story points out, there are still some really fantastic Canadians out there.
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I try to bring both so I always have the upper hand. Like a paradox, people don’t know what to do about it. Including me.
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That is so sweet!! Thank you for sharing this story. 🙂
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Thank you for reading ❤
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