---
title: A little act of kindness
date: 2024-05-19T11:00:00.0Z
tags:
    - personal 
excerpt: “A quick thanks to the kind stranger in the supermarket this morning”
---

My daughter is in the hospital, again. This is nothing new, it happens fairly frequently, she’s okay. It sucks, for her, and for us.

These hospital stays always turn out extremely expensive for us[^1]. Just parking at the hospital yesterday cost us over £21, and because we’re borrowing my parents car, my wife had to get taxis to-and-from the hospital[^2], and then food inside is incredibly expensive. I think in total the stay managed to cost us well over £150.

Whatever it cost, it was enough to reduce the balance in my bank to practically nothing, which I only discovered at the supermarket till when I wasn’t able to pay for a handful of pastries I’d bought so my wife and daughter could eat breakfast after being discharged.

I was prepared to leave them and walk away, but one very kind woman behind me in the queue paid for it. It was a really small amount, but it was just that tiny little act of kindness that helped make a shitty situation that little bit better. It’s something I’ve done a few times myself, but it was humbling to be on the receiving end.

Anyway, thank you to that person in the Lidl at Wythenshawe, you made my day a bit less shit without hesitation.

[^1]: By UK standards. Expensive is a relative term.
[^2]: There’s public transport, but it takes too long, and would mean her being alone in unfamiliar areas at night
