Acts of kindness

This isn't about the twins but about how it is important always to look on the positive side of life.

Last week on our way to the all important trampoline competition I found myself in that unenviable position of, after filling the car with petrol, not having the means to pay for it.  I thought I had cash in my purse, but, as we had been out for a meal the night before I had used all the cash.  I knew that I did not have enough on my debit card as money would not be going in till the next day!  I was getting very embarrassed and upset not quite knowing what to do.  I couldn't go back home as we would be late for the all important trampoline competition, where I knew I had left some money.  Thankfully the staff at Sainsbury's allow you to go with the petrol as long as you sign a default notice to say that you will pay within a week, I was just signing this off when someone in the other queue said " You live in .............. don't you?"

It was the voice of a guy who has very kindly left me bags of wood that he doesn't need for my log burning fire and recognised SJ in the car.  He asked me if everything was alright and  I explained the situation to him and said that I didn't have time to go back as we were on our way to a competition.  He immediately offered me £30.00 to pay for the petrol....just like that!

I nearly cried with relief, he was very humble and like the Good Samaritan that he was jokingly said when I promised to drop it into his house the next day, "I know where you live".  The relief was immediate and I was really overwhelmed and could not thank him enough.

I had been going through a bad couple of weeks and had got myself wrapped up in a negative frame of mind where everything was doom and gloom, very unlike me, but this one act of kindness made all difference.  The sun shone a little brighter and the journey became a little shorter and the day got a lot better and I felt more relaxed and happy than I had for quite a few weeks.

It just goes to show how easy it is to get into a negative state of mind and if you are not careful, how easy it is to let small blips in everyday life compound themselves into massive big traumas.  When I told the story to SJ she was very sympathetic and said "Oh Mum!" in that sort of voice that suggested I was a bit silly.  We then talked about how kind this guy had been and how lucky we were to know people like that.

The sun seems to shine just that little brighter since last week .... more good things are happening on a daily basis and the bad things I am just ignoring.  We should all try to do an act of kindness every day, you never know how much of an impact it will have on someone.