Stories of Kindness from Around the World

A Simple Act That Lifted a Mother's Spirits


--by mamaslc, posted Oct 4, 2009

My daughter has always been one to help out anyone, but she loves to tell this story about what really made her make being kind to everyone a priority in her life. 

 She was going through a rough time. Her relationship had broken down and she was now a single mom with two young daughters.  She had just been laid off from her second job within the space of a year.  And she was struggling to make ends meet.
 
She always tried to stay positive even under the immense stress she encountered daily but she was having a particularly rough day this one day.  She had gone to the mall with her daughters to buy them some clothes and afterwards they went for a meal in the food court. The clothes had been quite expensive and she decided to skip lunch to make sure her daughters had enough to eat. She was feeling quite depressed when a family of five walked up to her table. 
 
They smiled a lot and told her that she was a great mother and that she had a beautiful family and then left. 
 
They were complete strangers but she said that she felt like somehow they knew that she was having hard time and wanted to reach out to her. This one thing that they said really lifted her spirits.  It was so simple but she said it really brought her out of her slump.
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Readers Comments

glorioski wrote: So true. The right comment at the right time has so much potential to uplift and change our focus--and knowing this to be the case, let's not be stingy with our compliments--lets give them freely to acquaintances, strangers, and friends, and lets set aside the awkwardness you might feel in doing so, knowing the recipient will reap the rewards, which is our sole intention, and we'll sit well with ourselves knowing we've genuinely given of ourselves.
FairyBubbles wrote: That is a really beautiful story and your daughter sounds so wonderful.
HiddenGems wrote: It is always wonderful to be affirmed in our parenting skills, especially because of the many sacrifices we give to try to get it right.
grammagussie wrote: Oh waht a sweet comment out of the blue for your daughter to have. I think G-ds angles were at work. Kudos to your daughter and I hope life "treats her well"SmileyCentral.com
BedBug wrote: Bless this family that had the grace to say the right thing at the right time for your daughter. And may we all look for such opportunities to serve others' needs.
cabbage wrote: So wonderful---the right words at the right time mean SOOOOO much.
Being told you are a good parent is one of the nicest things to hear! :-)
sethi wrote: Your daughter's self estemm must have shot up hearing those words She has lots of strength and courage to face life. Thanks for sharing .

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