Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I just wanted to share how my heart has been opening up more lately, and as it does I see and feel more opportunities to give and receive kindness. I was at the store the other day, and the lady at the cash register had wild, beautiful hair. I complemented her and she just beamed. Then the young woman ahead of me in line couldn’t pay for her items, and I offered to pay for them. She declined, but when she left, the cashier thanked me for my offer. She had a huge smile on her face, and so did I, and she said, “We all need to give to each other like that. We don’t do enough of that!” I totally agreed and walked out of the store feeling so good. 😊

I also had a great connection with another cashier at Walmart recently. I was using a riding cart because I still have pain from my falls in 2018, and when I got up to the register the lady was so nice. She chatted me up, so to speak, lol, and we had a great conversation. I’m caring for my Dad and it turns out she cared for her Mother until she passed away, so we had a lot to talk about. She was so understanding and encouraging, it really gave me the strength I needed that day. Plus she called me honey and had such a warmth about her I felt accepted and cared about. Such a blessing!!

I seem to have a lot of kindness moments in Walmart, btw, lol and I go there a lot to pick up meds for my Dad. The other day I was talking with the woman at the register and when she realized who my Dad was, she asked about him and I filled her in. She remembered him and said he’d been coming there for years and she missed seeing him. Then she thanked me for caring for him, which was so special. Dad’s had so many health problems since about 2012 or 2013, that I’ve almost forgotten how he was before. It was nice to be reminded of that. 😊

I’ve also been praying lately to be kind and patient with myself and with my Dad. Whenever I remember to do that, our day seems so much better. He’s been very unhappy for awhile, but the other day I got up super early (as he does) and we ended up watching Forest Gump together. We both love that movie, and it seemed to open him up. He doesn’t talk much with me about “real things” but he did that day, and it made me happy. It’s really hard for me sometimes to do the caregiver things, so whenever we can have a moment when it’s just “Dad and Tracy” rather than “patient and caregiver” it really means a lot to me. I don’t know it he knows it, but that was his kindness to me that day. 😊