It was 4:30 p.m. on a Wednesday. I stopped at the grocery store with my 5-year-old and my 2-month-old on the way to pick up my middle child at daycare. We needed bananas, carrots, and sugar. Impulsively, we also took home a charcoal sheet mask (for me) and cheese cubes (for the kindergartner).
I noticed a man with his son, about my oldest daughter’s age, when we first walked into the store. In the back, near the cheese samples, we saw them again. (These cheese samples prompted the second impulse purchase.)
They were behind us in the express checkout line when it happened.
Often, my only purse is my diaper bag, and I keep my wallet there. But I’d gone into my office the day before, and my wallet was in my work bag. Which was at home.
My heart sank.
The checker couldn’t have been nicer. She told me she’d hold my groceries and I could go home and get my wallet. Round trip would have taken at least 20 minutes and involved getting two children in and out of car seats. My baby was starting to cry. I was just about to try to figure out Apple Pay when the man spoke.
“I’ve got it,” he said.
To say I was surprised is an understatement. “The same thing happened to me once,” he said. “I had forgotten my wallet, and my youngest was starting to have a meltdown. The person in front of me paid for me, so I’m just paying it forward and all that.”
I was effusive in my thanks. It’s difficult for me to accept help, and though I was embarrassed, I was also extremely grateful. With two (and often three) small children in tow, even the smallest outings, like a trip to the grocery store, can often seem monumental. Thank you, to that stranger who didn’t know me but had been in my shoes.
I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to buy someone’s groceries, but I will if the opportunity presents itself. Until then, I made a donation to the Greater Boston Food Bank. I’ll hold the door for someone with a stroller, the way others have held the door for me when I’ve had my stroller. And I’ll look for other opportunities to pay it forward.
It may sound trite, but wouldn’t the world be a better place if we all looked for those opportunities to pay it forward?
🥰