Hugs of Kindness

Sometimes it seems like I end up at the “right place at the perfect time” an awful lot.

But I got to thinking about it the other night, and I came to this conclusion:

It is not that I end up at the right place at the perfect time any more than other people, it may just be that I notice it more than others.  I have my receptors in tune.  I have, as I like to think of it, my eyes open and my heart open.  And when that happens, well, you can find yourself in some amazing situations.

The one I want to share with you now is from Christmas Eve.  My partner David and I were doing last minute grocery shopping.  We had been far too busy with the Santa Project to think of what we would eat for the holidays.  But as the realization that stores would close in just a couple of hours hit, we headed to the grocery.

We picked up what we needed and were checking out.  “David, maybe we should pay for the person in line behind us,” I whispered to him as we were finishing up.  After all, it was Christmas Eve.

We stalled a bit with our items while the cashier rang up the woman behind us’ purchases.  I was all set to pay for her, but something just didn’t feel right.  I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I felt that this was not the time, or it was not the person.  Whatever it was, I put the credit card back in wallet and we turned to go.

And that’s when I saw her.

One aisle over, waiting for the cashier to check out her groceries, was an older woman.  She was wearing shorts on a cold evening, with leg warmers pulled up to her knees.  And she was shaking.

I was not sure if the shakes were from the temperature or a tremor, but she was standing in the grocery store shaking.

I looked at David.  He looked at me.  And with twinkles in our eyes, we knew that this was right.  This was the moment.  This was why the universe had put us in that store at that time.  To be kind to her.

I walked up to her and said something like, “Excuse me ma’am.  It is Christmas Eve.  Would it be ok if we gave you the gift of paying for your groceries tonight?”.

She looked at me briefly, then turned back to her wallet.  The cashier looked at us.  I wasn’t sure if the shopper had understood what I said.  “Ma’am, we would like to pay for your groceries tonight.  Is that alright?” I asked gently.

Now she turned to look at us full on.  Her face looked confused, but she understood.  “Well now, you don’t have to do that,” she said.

“Of course we don’t have to,” I replied, “But we want to.  It is Christmas Eve.  We want to give you a gift.”

She accepted the gift.  We paid.  The cashier gave us a smile as we helped put the full bags back in her cart.

And that’s when she leaned her skinny little body next to mine and reached out her thin arms.  She came in for the biggest embrace. 

So, there we stood – two strangers hugging on Christmas Eve.  Blocking the aisle so the person behind her could not proceed.  But they sensed the need – they were patient.

When our hug ended, I asked, “How are you getting home?  Do you have a car here?”.

Indeed she did – she was parked out in the lot.  “We’ll walk out with you and help you load up your car,” we told her.

And off we went out into the cold.  She was a slow walker, but that was fine with us, we were not in any hurry.  She lost her car so we had to explore a bit in the lot to find it, but that was ok with us.  Her car was old so she didn’t have a button to push to make it honk to help find it, so we walked slowly and hunted.

When we found the car, she turned to hug me again, tears in her eyes.  “You don’t understand,” she said, “I needed this.  You see, I just got diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.  And a blood clot,” she said, tears streaming down her face. 

More hugs – tight, tight hugs.  Tears. 

We helped her load the groceries into the back seat.  I couldn’t see inside, but David later reported that she may have been living in the car.  He saw blankets and a pillow.  And when I thought back to what she bought, I think he may be right.  She had juices that do not need to be refrigerated.  Snacks of chips and nuts.  Tubs of potato salad, pre-made sandwiches, and other things from the deli that did not need to be cooked.

We said goodbye and Merry Christmas and parted ways.

I hope she has housing and is not living in her car.

I hope that her medical treatments are effective.

I hope that the hugs we gave her will help her get through the next few weeks.

And I hope that she is in the perfect place at the perfect time again sometime soon.

As for me, I will keep my eyes open and my heart open.  I will continue to talk to strangers, hug them even. 

And I will continue to spread kindness.  One tub of potato salad at a time.

Kindness Activist funds spent:  $131.60 

 

 

(This lovely angel was made mostly of rolled paper by a kind neighbor and given to us for Christmas.)