What a smile can do - NSV

PuggleLover
PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
in Success Stories
I was in Wal Mart picking up some items when I walked by a little old lady in a wheelchair. Her daughter was pushing her around the store. The duo were taking a break from fighting the crowds. I looked at the lady in the wheelchair and smiled and looked away. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her sit up and smile back, so I turned and smiled bigger and waved at her. She could barely wave back, but she tried.

A few minutes later I was standing in line and felt someone touch my arm. Turned around to see it was the daughter of the old lady. With tears in her eyes she said, my mother is 97 years old and says she doesn't have a lot to look forward to in life but when you smiled and said hello, it gives her hope to keep on living. I looked over her shoulder to see her mother in the wheel chair smiling and waving at me again. I waving back and yelled Merry Christmas. Man - that made my year!

What a difference a smile can make.
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Replies

  • deb3129
    deb3129 Posts: 1,294 Member
    Oh, that is truly touching!! I also try to make a point of smiling at people, and some don't seem to care. But there have been times when I have smiled and spoken to someone, and could literally see them light up. You never know what others are going through, and may not realize how such a small thing can touch someone.
  • larryc0923
    larryc0923 Posts: 557 Member
    Wow!! Thank you for your act of kindness. It is amazing how it makes people feel better and the world a nicer place.
  • alpine1994
    alpine1994 Posts: 1,915 Member
    Oh my god!! I would've turned into a big heap of tears. That is the sweetest thing - both that you smiled and waved and that her daughter was so grateful. I never have nice, tender moments like this at Wal Mart!! :)
  • timeforsomethingsweet
    timeforsomethingsweet Posts: 131 Member
    Love your story! Made my day complete! We need more people like you in the world =) Isnt it a fantastic feeling when you make someones day like that! Especially a complete stranger. Keep doing what you do! Oh and I Absolutely love your dogs too, so cute!! Have a wonderful day.
  • jennaworksout
    jennaworksout Posts: 1,739 Member
    What a great story!!! so nice!!
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
    There are so many times when I feel like yelling at people to get out of my way... It's hard to be nice.
    But really, the great part of this story is the daughter came over to thank me. She didn't have to do that... but it was something that I'll never forget.
  • beproudbestrong
    beproudbestrong Posts: 26
    Nice to know there are still sweet, kind poeople out in this world
  • Panda_1999
    Panda_1999 Posts: 191 Member
    It is wonderful what a simple kindness can do. Thanks for sharing this moment here
  • icimani
    icimani Posts: 1,454 Member
    How nice!
    A random act of kindness doesn't have to be anything big.

    Karma is only a ***** if you are!
  • domgirl85
    domgirl85 Posts: 295 Member
    OMG! You have me at my desk fighting tears! I WON'T CRY! :D
  • greenpointmoni
    greenpointmoni Posts: 69
    What a great story! I should smile more at people. I think living in Brooklyn for so long has jaded me. No one smiles and says hi, and when someone does, it feels weird and creepy. Sometimes people smile at me and I always look away quickly and don't understand why or if they are smiling at me. It makes me very confused.
  • penguinlally
    penguinlally Posts: 331 Member
    Wonderful - thank you so much for sharing..... I always try my best to be up and pleasant....and now I have a special goal....you made my day!
  • PuggleLover
    PuggleLover Posts: 261 Member
    @greenpointmon... I grew up in Boston and feel the same way sometimes when people look at me or smile. I used to ask my husband why people were starring at me or what do you think they want. He helped me realize, they just want to be nice. lol
  • SmileyJ23
    SmileyJ23 Posts: 349 Member
    :):heart:
  • lenniebus
    lenniebus Posts: 321 Member
    Awwww....that is so sweet. Good for you--good Karma for you for sure!
  • Flamenquero
    Flamenquero Posts: 132
    We greet people here in Texas regularly. At least that has been my experience. Walk past someone on the street and we usually say hello, good morning, good afternoon, and even howdy. OTOH, when I lived in New York greeting someone on the street was usually considered a prelude to a mugging.
  • juliedozier
    juliedozier Posts: 184 Member
    Thank you for sharing! A reaffirmation to always smile and be kind to others because we never know what they are going through. :)
  • Alex_is_Hawks
    Alex_is_Hawks Posts: 3,499 Member
    I smile all the time (not because I am being nice to people but because I get nervous out in public and my automatic response is to smile when i'm nervous)......

    that being said.....it's resulted in some really heartwarming and touching moments with small children and the elderly...

    this is beautiful.
  • sunshinesquared
    sunshinesquared Posts: 2,733 Member
    Great story!!!! Thanks for sharing!

    :cry: Now excuse me, while I go find a box of tissues...
  • LandonRand
    LandonRand Posts: 166
    Awesome story! You never know how one person can make a big difference!
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    I make it a point to smile at everyone who makes eye-contact with me. Sometimes, I even make it point to make eye-contact. It really does make a difference. I think I get this behavior from my mother.

    I visit my mom at a nursing home every other day. (3-4 times a week) There are what look to be some really sad souls there. Smiling at them and saying hello definitely seems to help. My mother, in a wheel chair and barely able to speak, is VERY SMILEY. "Smiley" has become her nick-name. It always amazes me how someone who doesn't even speak can be so social and popular. She smiles and waves at everyone we pass and the staff is always hugging on her and joking with her.

    Smiling is good for the giver and the receiver.
  • Cori_Mac
    Cori_Mac Posts: 134 Member
    Thank you for passing joy on to others. :)
  • UR2COOL
    UR2COOL Posts: 2 Member
    What a blessing!
  • jlapey
    jlapey Posts: 1,850 Member
    We greet people here in Texas regularly. At least that has been my experience. Walk past someone on the street and we usually say hello, good morning, good afternoon, and even howdy. OTOH, when I lived in New York greeting someone on the street was usually considered a prelude to a mugging.

    It's a southern thing. We do that here in Louisiana too. I walk my neighborhood a lot and everyone smiles and waves as we pass whether they too are walking/running, driving, or just sitting on the porch.
  • gcanter
    gcanter Posts: 194 Member
    Smiles are contagious...pass them around!
  • mgmlap
    mgmlap Posts: 1,377 Member
    we never know how our actions affect others..in your case....it was a wonderful reaction...so awesome!
  • angelicarubi
    angelicarubi Posts: 148 Member
    A few years ago I went to an elderly home to drop off Christmas cards for all the elders that the kids at school had made. As I walked through the home and gave out the cards, with my family most people just took them and only smiled back, but this one old lady grabbed it then looked up at me with tears in her eyes and asked if she could give me and my family a hug, I said ofcourse and as we all hugged her she began to cry, she said she was so happy, nobody had brought her anything for Christmas since she had been there. I felt so bad for her:( So I went back and visited her for every occasion that year until I moved.
  • chocl8girl
    chocl8girl Posts: 1,968 Member
    smile.jpg
  • Mylolamia
    Mylolamia Posts: 86 Member
    That is so beautiful. A little gesture like this can make someone's day, make them feel so special. Good for you...you made someone really feel special today. We must not forget we are all here for only a little while so let's do the best we can to brighten another person's day. Little things really do mean a lot!
  • binglebandit
    binglebandit Posts: 531 Member
    This is what I miss most about where I used to live. I now live in a small town about an hour away from Chicago and it seems like everyone is so busy doing their own thing no one even smiles at each other anymore. Back in Kansas it's pretty normal to smile at strangers walking by. *insert homesickness*

    And just as a comparison, even the morning joggers avoid eye contact. I've never met an unfriendly jogger/walker before moving.

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