S/o frum man at the grocery.

amother

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 7:55 pm

Let's hear some inspirational stories of a kindness that someone did for you.

I'll start.

My baby boy, 3 weeks old, cried. And cried. And cried.
I was losing my sanity but he wouldn't let up. Decided to go to a supermarket 10 mins away- some fresh air sounded like a good idea and I hoped he would fall asleep in the stroller.

Well, I got my shopping done...and he fell asleep literally as I was paying.

I know it's sounds crazy, but I reached an all time low. I just. did. not. have. the. energy. to. walk. home. I could've taken a cab but my carriage is bulky so would have to take him out and fold it...and the thought of him waking up and screaming again...let's not go there.

Suddenly my first grader's morah appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. We know each others families well and we got chatting a little. This angel suggested that I take an Uber while she wheels my baby home and meets me there.

And my baby carried on sleeping for an hour after I got home affording me a nap. That sleep was the best ever-the warmth was not only from my bed but a warm heart.

144

amother

Pink

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 8:12 pm

amother OP wrote:

Wow. Just wow. I know that feeling. People who help mothers are saving families.

amother

Peach

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 8:15 pm

I was feeling very down about myself. A woman I didn’t know stopped me in the supermarket and said, I don’t know you and I’m sure you’re a wonderful person inside, but I just wanted to tell you how beautiful you are on the outside.
I still haven’t forgotten this, years later.

amother

Powderblue

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 8:31 pm

While we're talking supermarket stories...

When one of my kids was a newborn, and I was still recovering from a c-section, I went through the grocery store tossing things into my cart, hoping that the baby would sleep and that I would not fall apart before I made it to the checkout.

As soon as I was ready to check out, my baby started crying, didn't want to be rocked, just needed to be held. I picked up the baby and was trying to bend down at the same time to get the stuff out of my cart, but my scar was hurting and I was just trying to put on a brave face because what choice did I have? My family needed to eat.

And then this malach, in the form of another lady, walked over from the next checkout and started unloading my cart. If she had asked, I would have said no and been embarassed. As it was, I just swallowed my tears and told her thank you! She said "We've all been there" and unloaded my entire cart for me.

The end of the story is that I did it for someone else, years later, who I saw in the same predicament. (No clue if she had a c-section, but crying baby and trying to unload her cart.) I never would have had the guts to do it if I hadn't been on the receiving end.

And no, I didn't ask.

amother

Winterberry

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 8:38 pm

My daughter was checking out a non food item and a food item at a grocery store.
She miscalculated how much the total would come to.
(she had made the cheshbon at home and asked me for a certain amount of money)
At the register it turned out that she didn’t have enough money. So she told the cashier she will put the non food item back and buy it another time.
A frum man behind her insisted that he’ll pay for it!
My daughter assured him that it isn’t very important and she’ll come back. But he wouldn’t hear of it and put the money down!
Mi k’amcha yisroel Smile

amother

Blueberry

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:07 pm

A while back I was in a pizza store with my kids. I remember feeling very overwhelmed and like I don’t have my act together. A woman came in, looking all perfectly put together, and I couldn’t help feeling not together next to her. She passed my table and smiled and said some nice comment about my kids.
It really made such a difference to my day!

amother

Hotpink

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:14 pm

amother Winterberry wrote:

I’ve done it more than once. I have a soft spot for kids at the register with not enough to pay. It’s so awkward for them.

amother

Chartreuse

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:15 pm

I was in Israel this year for Succos, my baby got sick and had diarrhea and I ran out of wipes. It was a really stressful time. So second day of yontif (for me) I ran to the makolet and tried asking a cashier if I could come back and pay later. A guy overheard me struggling in broken ivrit, and told me he’d take care of it. He also asked “is there anything else you need? Are you sure?” It was so so nice.

Also in the parking lot of Gourmet Glatt, I saw one guy run over to another and say “I don’t know if you remember me, but I remember you, a couple weeks ago you saw us stopped on the side of the highway with my kid throwing up, you gave us a bunch of water bottles. I just want to say thank you.” The guy didn’t even remember. I was so inspired by both the chessed and the hakaras hatov.

amother

Tan

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:22 pm

I was in the parking lot in gourmet glatt in lakewood with two very heavy grocery boxes and my kvetchy baby. I was trying to get the stuff into the car but it had been such a long day and I was near tears. A very very kind couple came- put the boxes in the car, offered to hold my baby, even untangled my baby's slinky from the cart, and put my cart back. They were angels from heaven.

amother

Forsythia

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:50 pm

I was the OP from the original thread. Mine wasn't at Gourmet Glatt :-)

But it is so nice to see so many chassadim happen. And it opens my eyes to see how in the future I can IYH be on the giving end...

amother

Chocolate

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:57 pm

When I had a baby, my mother in law’s friend made an entire shabbos for us. It was just the best and I have dietary restrictions too.
Does this count even though she wasn’t a stranger?

amother

Chocolate

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 9:59 pm

Came up with another one—I was invited to a Chassidish colleague’s daughters wedding. I came late dressed modestly but definitely not Chasidic. A relative of the kallah (total stranger) greeted me, found me a seat and went to the kitchen to ask for a meal for me.
I’m going to keep thinking of more. This is such a lovely thread and exercise.

amother

Black

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 10:05 pm

If it's ok to speak of myself...I walked a woman to her house. I knew her a little. She had recently suffered a loss and we had just broken away from some other ladies making sympathetic faces at her. I am a quiet person and did not speak during the walk. I thought, maybe this is awkward. But she gave me sincere thanks.

amother

Eggshell

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 10:13 pm

Someone commented to me in a store that she liked how I handled my daughters tantrum.
Another time someone complimented me on how I was taking care of my kids.
I'm never totally confident in my parenting (especially given my background). I work really hard on it and those comments ment the world to me.

I never realized how much it could mean to others but now that I see it, I try now to also look out and do the same for others even though I'm on the quieter side.

amother

Jetblack

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 10:27 pm

Mi k'amcha yisroel. Years ago an "angel" (a man) gave me $5000 towards groceries when I was in dire need of money. I never asked him. He didn't ask me. He simply gave it to me and encouraged me to buy generously for my kids. I still feel like I didn't thank him enough. I mean words can not describe what this meant for me.

amother

Electricblue

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 10:37 pm

My parents aren’t wealthy. When I got married my parents really struggled to pay for the basics. My in-laws aren’t wealthy but they live comfortably. Only found out after the wedding that at one point when my father was davening in shul my FIL randomly decided to Daven in the same shul as my father. When davening finished, he slipped my father an envelope with $5000 and said “no one needs to know” and walked away before my father could say anything.

amother

Aconite

Wed, Jan 10 2024, 11:58 pm

I was once at the grocery store making a big order for shabbos not luxury, but meat for chulent, and yogurts and lebons for shabbos too.. When I got to the register I realized that the whole order would not go through. You see I'm not so good at managing my money that week I bought my kids boots for the upcoming snow. Gave my card # to a camp to charge for the coming summer and my boss said that this week he can't pay me the day he usually does he will pay me the next day. I couldn't go to the grocery next day so I tried my luck and bought whatever went through on my card. Then I had to put the rest back. Chicken, loose carrots and loose apples. A lady stopped and asked if everything was OK, if she could help pay.. I wanted to cry from embarrassment.Blaming myself, I felt this only happens because I'm terrible with my calculations, and then I held my head high and said no thank you trying to give my force my friendliest smile. What a nice person to want to help a person that appeared in distress. I wasn't going to explain myself but I hope my "no" didn't turn her off from approaching others that looked in need of help