This evening, I was SO blessed by three different strangers, in a McDonalds, of all places. It reminded me how much a kind word can have an effect on someone and make their day, in some cases.
Brady and I met in the city after his workday. We planned for a quick supper at McDonalds and then a grocery shop at Superstore. Not a lot to do, but we enjoy those kind of outings.
We walked into the McDonalds a little less organized than usual. Lots of people were coming in and out and it was a tight little entrance. That, and we had Rowan in the stroller so I’d hold the door for Brady to push Ro thru, and then we’d all be backed up behind him against another door. It was just kind of a mess. When we finally made it into the building, the kids were just walking straight ahead, which wasn’t where we needed to go. So we had to go gather them and wrangle everyone to one table before I got everyones orders and went to the front counter. We weren’t at all loud or causing an issue, but we did stand out a little bit.
Right after I ordered, a woman was walking away with her order, and stopped by me. She commented on how cute my kids were. I thanked her, and told her they were really fabulous kids. She said she could tell, and she headed to her table to have her supper. It made me feel all nice and warm and fuzzy.
I leaned against a wall and waited for my order, and a woman who ordered after me came and waited right next to me. Not two seconds of standing next to each other, she tapped me on the shoulder and said “Your family is so adorable, you should be very proud.” I couldn’t help but puff up a bit like a mother hen. I thanked her and said that I really am proud of them. We proceeded to have a bit of a sad, deep conversation about her inability to have children. It probably wasn’t the most appropriate conversation for two strangers to have in a McDonalds, but she clearly was comfortable talking about it, and wanted to talk about it! So we talked, and she said how desperately she had wanted kids, and how mine just made that desire stir right back up. I felt sad for her, but she said she had recently married a man later in his years who was past his time of child bearing, so she said she would have chosen him over babies. It was good to know she was content in her life. But I saw her look over at my family many times. She was very enamoured with them.
When the food all arrived, I brought the tray to our table and proceeded to make a few trips to and from the condiments/drinks/utensil area. Once everyone had their meal, straw, napkin, ketchup, etc., we could begin eating. The kids were all doing awesome, and honestly, making us look really good. No one was spilling, they were using perfect manners, Rowan was quiet. It was a scene out of a movie, really. It wasn’t too long before I noticed another woman headed our way. It was an elderly lady, and her husband a few steps behind. She said she’d been observing us, and that our children seemed so happy. She said “You must love them very well, and smile at them a lot.” She just warmed my heart. She asked about all of their ages, and commented on how well behaved they were. I thanked her profusely and made a joke about how they’re just hungry, and that was why they were quiet. But she insisted that they were just lovely kids, which they are. She pulled out her grandma-style little black book, filled with family pictures. Her and her husband have been together for over 65 years, and they had four children. She noticed that Rowan is big for his age, so of course we got onto the topic of my kids enormous birth weights. She was SO funny about it too! I had said “But thats what you want, right? Big, healthy kids.” And she kind of looked at me like I was nuts and said “You don’t want them THAT big!!” But she was SO loving and interested in us. I half expected her to sit down and join us, but she did move on eventually.
This post is not about how great my kids are. Though they really are great. But its about how those few little comments/conversations I had with complete strangers reminded me how a nice word (or a mean word) can affect someone’s day SO MUCH. Its hard to remember to do that all of the time, because it doesn’t feel natural. What is it in us that doesn’t want people to feel good about themselves?? I think compliments are SO important! But I know, there are lots of reasons not to, one of the biggest being that its uncomfortable to just approach and talk to people you don’t know! But I can vouch for the fact that it can feel FABULOUS to have someone who doesn’t know you, or owe you anything, to come up to you and encourage you in such a significant way. I suggest we all do the same, in whatever capacity we can muster up.