Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I am the mother of three little ones all under the age of five. One of my children has Celiac Disease, I have Multiple Sclerosis, and other members of our family have various food intolerances. None of these titles or limitations has ever stopped us from finding a balance and being creative in our thoughts towards happiness. We help out bodies to be their strongest, and happiest, through the foods we eat. This means getting creative in the kitchen to make all bellies happy but I have to be especially creative because our food budget is very stretched.

My hubby took a brave journey and switched careers about five years back and went to medical school. He graduated this past spring and when he finished the finances, or lack there of, really began to be felt. We have kept on smiling because we know in the end it will all be worth it but that doesn't change the fact that when you run out of money for food, you run out of money and nothing can change that. The other day at our local co-op I went to purchase a few items (dried figs, bananas,apples...) to help sustain us for the rest of the week. I had only a little bit of money leftover from the remainder of the week's food budget and knew I had to really choose what I NEEDED. Well, as usual, I didn't have enough money to purchase all the things I had placed on the counter. I told the cashier which items I would purchase and which ones I needed to put back.

The woman behind us smiled and talked with my kids and after I paid told me she wanted to buy the head of garlic I had chosen not to buy. This touched me so greatly. I was going to use it for three dinners and to give a few cloves to one of our very sick dogs. I thanked her several times and walked outside, tears welling. That act of kindness might have been little but it helped me and my family stay healthy for yet another week. She probably has no idea what she did but it goes to show that any little thing we do can have a very BIG impact.

Pennsylvania