KINDNESS & GROCERIES

 

Today was a day like any other.  Health concerns are overshadowing everything we do. Our problems are too numerous to mention. So I won’t. Because we are retired and usually need an afternoon nap… and with Covid19 lingering everywhere… we don’t stray too far from home. Didn’t have much of an anniversary or birthday celebrations this year.  But such is life. All of us are in the same boat. The high point of our day is usually going to get groceries. People tend to be in a hurry there. Get in, Get out. More masks sit below the nose than cover it. And that’s disconcerting to me. Worried germs are going to spread everywhere. And I might catch them. So I pray I don’t. I literally play a game of dodge ball with other shoppers, trying to socially distance when they aren’t.  When I was ready to check out earlier, the lines were long. Everybody it seemed had full carts and I didn’t. I use a scooter, so the basket has a limited capacity and it was filled to it, but not as much as the regular shopping carts. So I chose an aisle with least amount of products in carts. But unfortunately it still had a lot of people waiting. I figured it would be a while. And then kindness happened.  The Hispanic couple in front of me, smiled and told me to go ahead.  I asked if they were sure, and they said absolutely. I  thanked them profusely. It was a sweet gesture and I was touched. As I continued to wait… I noted the person now in front of me was androgynous, spiked short hair, with earrings in places I didn’t know you could put them, and tattoos, head to toe.  As they finished up with their order… they too smiled at me, and said here, let me help you…  reaching into my cart, putting my items on the conveyor belt. How nice was that? One can’t judge a book by it’s cover. Another random act of  kindness. Imagine that? I was surprised. Twice in one day. Lucky me. I paid for my groceries and headed out to the parking lot. I’m always a little leery of my surroundings, when it’s late at night, so I stayed alert to any potential danger signs. Suddenly… a young Indian man, in his early 20’s rushed towards me. At first, I was alarmed and dropped my purse between my feet on the bottom of the scooter, out of sight.  He said, “Please let me do this for you. He edged around me, to open the van door. I was still a little shaken and slightly suspicious, but he seemed innocent enough. And on the up and up. So, I unlocked it… and he proceeded to gently put all my packages on the floorboard behind the drivers seat. He shut that door and held open the front one for me to get in. I was shocked. A man hasn’t held a door open for me, in many years. He told me to enjoy the rest of my evening and said he would take the scooter back inside the store. It was beginning to drizzle and I thanked him, from the bottom of my heart. Another act of kindness. Wow. Three in one day, less than an hour or so apart. When you wake up each day, you never know what’s to come. You see all the bad stuff on the news and are dismayed. You think to yourself how can there be such hatred and lack of empathy when we are all in this world together?  Then something like this happens.  KINDNESS. Random Kindness. It restores your faith in humanity and gives you hope. In this case, it made my day. Pass it on.  It could be the sunshine  somebody  else needs.