Human Kindness #9: A Few Hours to Spare

Welcome back to Human Kindness! If you haven’t already, please check out Human Kindness: Introduction for the background to this blog series! These stories are NOT all my own, they have been submitted to me for the purpose of this series and are a collection from some of the kindest people I know or who have contacted me to share their story.

I am ALWAYS on the lookout for kindness stories, so please do get in touch if you have one, there is a chance for you to submit yours at the end of this post (and I will always keep them anonymous). As always, if you’d like to receive these stories directly to your inbox every Monday morning, sign up to the mailing list at the end of this post.

When you have a few hours to spare, spending them spontaneously with somebody else can make the world of difference to their life. This week’s story is wonderful, and there are many more to come from this same person. I am SO excited to share them with you!

“My mum works as a phlebotomist, so she spent her days taking people’s blood for tests and so on. One day, she was working a half day and finishing at lunchtime, and an elderly patient came in just before she was due to finish. The lady started talking about a local farm shop that she wanted to visit to get some jam and eggs, and that she was planning to make a trip there after the appointment.

Whilst the farm shop was local, it was quite far and the woman didn’t drive. As my mum got talking to her she discovered that she has no family here, as her family live in Australia. The lady didn’t explicitly say it, but she seemed quite lonely, and my mum said she could sense that her appointment was about as much interaction as she was going to get that day.

My mum is the most giving person I have ever known, and she asked the lady if she could drive her to the farm shop given that she was finishing work soon. The lady protested but my mum lied a little and told her it was on her way home anyway. She agreed and off they went to the farm shop.

But my mum being my mum took it even further. After the lady commented to her that she was grateful and doesn’t ever go anywhere, my mum asked her if she wanted to go into the village centre for some fish and chips. The woman was overjoyed. They went to the farm shop followed by lunch at a fish and chip shop, and then my mum took the lady home. As she dropped her off, the woman became emotional and told her “Thank you. I have had the most wonderful couple of hours”.

I find it absolutely staggering that something so simple can mean so much to somebody, and that a few hours out of my mum’s day did such wonders for this lonely older lady. Elderly loneliness is very real, and I was so proud of my mum for doing what she did. I feel so grateful as I always am that the world has my mum in it who often does things like this.”

Have you experienced an act of kindness recently? Maybe you have done something for somebody that you haven’t yet shared for fear of being judged to be “bragging” or you have been on the receiving end of a kindness that somebody has shown you. My inbox is ALWAYS open for your kindness stories so please submit them!

Stories will be treated with discretion and published anonymously at all times, and I will share as much or as little information as you wish. Message me using the form below and I’ll be sure to feature your story in an upcoming post.

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