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yesterday this old man lightened up my day, so randomly i thought i should thank him here…..what a gent and what an interesting man….
as i was putting ds2 into the car this amn stopped and asked if i was parking and if i had a ticket? i told him i was leaving but said sure the carpark is free, he said i know, laughed you can leave your car here til after christmas….and he laughed, had such a lovely smile….his eyes filled with laughter too….a gentle old soul…..
he told me he was a grandfather and great grandfather….loved kids….was originally from clogherhead, and had moved to termonfeckin. worked in the fields when he was 8 and then left school when he was 11yrs old…said he wasn’t very well educated but when he was old enough joined the merchant navy and educated himself in the way of the world…he told me about his stint on the QE2 and how he travelled around the world….he had brought his wife on the QE2 aswell and some of his grandchildren….
he is 87yrs old and as fit as a fiddle, full of life….had his hip replaced when he was 80yrs old and kicked his leg out made me giggle….also told me that he had had his cataracs done too and was thrilled with himself…..
he then told me about is beloved grand daughter who had died 2 years ago, a young girl known to many in the town, he showed me her photo and as he spoke about her he spoke with passion and sadness all at once, said he missed her every day…
he went on talking cracking jokes and a wonderful man made this girl smile, and was such a pleasure to speak to him great to see that such a wonderful person exsists….
he wished myself and my family a wonderful christmas and a bright future i returned the blessing, to which he replied, all i want to christmas is to have another one…
ah god there goes the heart strings…
well needless to say, he may have just had a chat but he certainly brightened up my day…was a great man for a chat and a fascintating one too..
what was also very poignet was the fact that not many people stop and have the time to chat these days we’re too busy running and not listening…so maybe every once in awhile stop and chat to someone you might just make them smile…just like this man did….if anyone out there knows this man, tell him thanks…such a precious story…..
so many people have so many incredible things going on in their lives, which we could all learn from, if only we take the time out to listen…. 😉
And I’m sure scole, that you made his day too, by taking the time out to let him share his story…. 😉awe that is a lovely story, it reminds me of when i was younger listening to stories that my granny and grandad used to tell me…
Ah thats a wonderful story, you are so right people just dont have time to stop and talk to old people, they are brilliant and some to the tales they can tell… i loved when ould dears would chat when i was doing the post, they would be lonely and would try get me in to have a cuppa and a chat 😆 😆 😆
I was parking outside St Peters Church on Wed I asked an older woman did she know if this was part of the free parking, she said no. I was looking in my wallet and all i had was 40 cent, she must have been watching and walked back and offered me 2 euro, I told her I would go get change…. she was "ah no look at the bad weather and the kiddies" told me all about her grandkids and how they live in the US and OZ and she misses them sooo much… in the end i took 50 cent off her and wished her well and said i’d say a prayer for her, she stop and hugged me and thanked me and said she would love that and need some prayers…… there was a great sadness in her eyes, dont know if she was lonely and missing her family at this time of year, but got a feeling that she had health problems…. Some lovely people in this town
Heres a nice story about something that happened in Dundalk, at our get together on Thursday.
We were all crammed into the Bagel bar chatting away. There was a mum sitting across from us, not in our area, with a toddler so I approached her and asked her if she would like to join us for a chat and to let her son play with the other toddlers.
She thanked me for inviting her but said she was too shy to come over but that perhaps next time she would pluck up the courage. My heart went out to her, as she seemed a bit sad and lost and it looked like she really wanted to join us but could not find the courage.
I had lots of gifts that shops in the centre had donated to the event for the mums and so I brought her over some freebies. She asked me why I would give her a gift, even when she had not joined us and I said because she is a mum and we all deserve a little treat every now and then.
She looked like she was about to start crying and I thought I had made a huge mistakeuntil she put her arms around me and hugged me for the random act of kindness. To me it was nothing, I saw a mum who looked a bit lonely and I tried to bring her into our event and I gave her some freebies. She said it had made her day and she went on to tell me she has 8 children and never gets a minute – never mind a treat – just for herself. (I gave her another gift for being brave enough to have 8 kids!!)
The thing about Mumstown is, if I had not approached her, I know one of the other mums would have. This is the way we are; we all help each other and encourage each other and its things like this that make us feel amazing.
Before she left she came over to give me a hug and wished me and my family a Happy Christmas. I felt great that something so small had brightened someones day and it will definitely encourage me to try to be kind to people when ever the chance arises.
In these gloomy times little acts of kindness go a long way.
Lovely thread, thanks Scole.
Ah Sabbi….. good on ya girl! And I’m sure that woman was so thrilled by your generosity…
What feels like a little to us, can mean the world to someone else… and sounds like she really needed it. 8 kids! She deserves a medal! 😉Really lovely stories girls, well done for giving your time and effort to strangers when many people wouldn’t, it may even inspire others who may be a little shy to do the same!
Fair play to you Sabbi….and to that lady…8 children, God I can barely manage one 😳 And Scole1 your’s was a lovely story too. We can learn so much from older people if we just took the time to listen like you did. And Taylor, a similar thing happened to me in Lawrence’s Gate Shopping Centre one day when my LO was tiny (and probably bawling 😳 😆 )…it’s great to know that there are still some decent souls out there xx
Aw girls. The tears are flowing… My son was in crumlin hospital recently. Minor operation but is ok now. While he was there, there were so many other kids with illnesses all around him all varying in extremity. There was one little boy there with Cancer and he nearly made me cry every time I saw him, tubes coming from his little frail body and every step was a journey in itself. Anyway, one day my son was playing in the communal play area by himself and this little boy came in. He said I’m so fed up playing with these same toys every day. His mum came in and sat beside me so I started to talk to her, she asked if my son was ok and I told her that he just had a small operation and will be fine now. She said her son was diagnosed with Cancer 5years ago (is now 6) and the hospital is now her home. I was in total awe of her strength and felt so bad for ever feeling sorry for myself when the kids are acting up. I thought she might be glad of a chat about other things aside from hospitals and illness, so I told her about mumstown and our skating experience…mainly when I fell and she laughed. She told me she hadn’t laughed that hard in years and was so glad of a break in conversation from the usual. When my son was discharged I went into their room and game him some new toys to play with. His little eyes lit up and his mum gave me a hug.
That mothers love and strength was inspiring.
ah girls…..lovely stories and just goes to show every now and then stop and listen to someone or show them they are not alone coz that day they may just have needed that
This isn’t so much in the same vein but made me stop, think and remind myself to judge each situation as it comes, a practice I strive for but regularly fail to implement.
Was just in EuroDisney. On the whole, magique as they say en France. But at some points I wanted to rip my own head off, stuff it with feathers and feed it to the elephants I was that frustrated with the place.
Numero un. Have you ever been to CDG in Paris? Total nightmare labryinth and on arrival there, ds managed to pick up the emergency phone and alert the riot police to our carousel the SECOND he was released from buggy. Armed gendarmes everywhere.
Numero deux. TGV fabulous fantastic super fast train gets u to ED in 11 mins? No effin space for u 2 park luggage in.
Numero trois. Arrive at ED. 0 signs for your otel if u stayin on site. Million and 42 signs if u gotta get a shuttle bus somewhere, but if u in pink palace that is right there but u cannot actually c cos u have mentaller ds, mesemerised dd and into the stratosphere stressed out dh going off in 3 diff directions to u, u wander round for half an hour lookin 4 signs that don’t exist cos t RIGHT THERE, IT’S BEHIND YOU!
Numero quartre, cinq et six.Lost pass to get into parks? Bring your passport and remplir cette fiche. Lost camera? Remplir cette fiche and bring passport. Wanna have any food, anywhere in hotle, any time of day? Show one of the 14, yes 14 pieces of paper we were given to validate a 4 day stay 4 4 of us.
Was going stir crazy although had had a ball by time we got back to CDG 9pm last night after having left 1 case in securuty. Dh handed me a much, much needed and longed for beer. I put it RIGHT under seat, in the SAFEST place in cavernous airport lounge. Fecker ds could’ve run anywhere, climbed anywhere, done snow angels on ground anywhere. But where did he do it? UNDER MY SEAT SENDING UNTOUCHED BEER EVERYWHERE!!!!!
Iwas weeping, end of tether, had enough…But…
This kindly janitor man, saw me clearly losing the plot, came from other side of lounge and put his hand on my shoulder and said, "it’s ok, he is child, it’s ok", mopped it all up, soothing me at same time. I apologised and in my best schoolgirl French, struggled to say, he only just 3, I know he looks 5 but he only jsut 3 I’m so sorry" by which stage I was into full on wail mode. he still said. it’s ok. don’t worry, it’s ok." then sat down and show’d me his grandaughter on his mobile and told me littles stories about her (I think!) till a) I calmed down and b) dh retuned after extracting ds from Gate 11 where he had fled to when I roared at him. (HTG, u won’t believe this, but somehow he had hacked into the airport mainframe at this stage and had the passenger list up for flight to Agadir or somewhere!). Then he left. 2 mins later he returned with a new beer for me. DH said he saw him go and that he’d paid (5E), not just got a free replacement. He cant have been on a fortune wages wise, how kind was that?
I tell you, I was just about to start my own revolution, I’d had just about enough of La France, was sick to back teeth of it (not ED, just French ways -n sorry Fab, if u r reading!), but that kind man restored my faith in France and in humanity when I needed it most. And thank God for that!Sabbi brilliant story… i know what that woman wants for xmas! her tubes tied 😆 😆 😆 God I had tears in my eyes reading about her 8 kids!!! Im sure she wouldnt give any of them back but that has to be tough…
Hjs I really had tears in my eyes reading your post…. tears of laugher 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 😆 utter class, I feel so normal after reading your post, that sounds like my kind of holiday 🙄
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