Kindness at the Grocery Store

I was having one of those days. I had overslept, spilled coffee on my shirt and gotten stuck in traffic. By the time I got to the grocery store after work, I was ready to cry over anything.

At the register, my card was declined. Just a bank glitch, it turned out, but in the moment I was mortified. I started putting things back.

The woman behind me, an older lady with a cart full of cat food, said, "Oh honey, let me." Before I could argue, she handed the cashier her card. It was forty-three dollars.

I tried to get her address so I could pay her back. She just patted my hand and said, "Pass it on someday."

I have, many times since then. Coffee for the person behind me, a parking meter about to run out, groceries for a young dad juggling a crying baby. Every time, I think of the cat food lady.

Kindness travels.