Kindness From a Stranger

I'm sitting here getting my tires replaced because, well, they needed to be replaced. I had put it off for quite some time, and now that one of them has a steady leak, I bit the bullet and decided to just replace them all. 

I brought work with me because I wasn't exactly sure how long it would take, so I sat down in an area where I could at least respond to emails. Just a couple of minutes after I sat down, a man with his one year old son sat down beside me. He was feeding him, spilled some of his coffee, was all thumbs until he regrouped and began feeding him again. It was so precious. I offered him some wipes because that's what parents do! But he had plenty. We then began talking about our children. He said he has three; a daughter 11, son 8, and his son he was holding and feeding, just a little over a year old. He was so kind and so patient. You could tell he was mild mannered, loving, caring, genuine. I showed him a picture of my daughter and he said, oh yeah, you can tell she is a firecracker. We shared laughs about our kids; it was great! After we exchanged stories, I told him that it's hard doing it by myself, but I could never imagine my life without my daughter. He said he never thought he would have children but couldn't imagine his life without them either. 

He was upset for me, I saw it in his face. He said that it's wrong that my daughter's father changed his mind. But I told him it's ok, I would rather he be gone without a trace than to be a toxic presence. 

His car was done before mine. As he began to organize his belongings, he said he knew that I was a good mother and that my daughter is so lucky to have me as her mom. He wished us the best. And then he was gone. It was truly moving; true kindness from a stranger.