There are few things in life as challenging and rewarding as parenting. Being a single parent is even tougher. There are days when single parents feel like throwing in the towel, giving up because they just can’t keep up with the constant demands, and inevitable failures, that come with being a parent.
One young mother was having one of those difficult days when an interaction with a kind stranger gave her the strength to carry on.
A Mother-Daughter Breakfast Date
Suzanne Maughan and her daughter Hayley were sharing an order of pancakes during a mother-daughter breakfast date when an older woman named Mary sat down to eat alone at a table next to them. Suzanne and Hayley greeted her silently when she sat down, and continued to share a few smiles and words with her throughout their meal.
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Mary told Hayley how lucky she was ‘to have the best mom in the world’ and told them that she too had a daughter, who was now all grown up at 49 years old. Mary signaled to Suzanne and Hayley when she left, and the two went about their meal. An amazing surprise was awaiting them when the time to pay their bill rolled around.
“You Have Made Such a Difference in My Life With Your Kindness”
Suzanne found that Mary had paid for their pancake breakfast and left a little note on the bill expressing her gratitude. The note read ‘Thank you for sharing your mother day and daughter day with me. Mary.’
Suzanne was floored that a stranger would be so kind. Mary didn’t know it, but Suzanne had been having a very hard week as a mother.
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This is what she said: “Mary doesn’t know I’m a single mother of two. She doesn’t know how difficult this week has been for me. She doesn’t know my anxieties and insecurities and how much I pray to not feel so lonely. But God knows. And today, Mary listened to that prompting and was able to be our angel, to remind us how loved we are. So thank you, Mary. You have made such a difference in my life with your kindness.”
The Little Things Have the Power to Change Lives
This gesture from a stranger was a much needed salve for Suzanne.
We often forget how the smallest gesture can change a person’s life. When we express kindness through actions, no matter how small, we are making a real impact on people. We never know how much strife, loneliness, or depression someone is going through.
Why not default to kindness as Mary did in this instance? She made Suzanne feel like a good mom, which is exactly what she needed that day.
