Six years later, I am still eternally grateful to that woman."
Here are some of the most wholesome and powerful stories:
1.
“I was flying home from college.
I’d arrived pretty early to the gate, so I started chatting with another woman there.
Then our flight got canceled.
Well, this woman kept prying and prying.
She then gave me a wide smile and started discussing something else.
I was so grateful for her acknowledgment and support.”
Anonymous
3.
Then my friend’s mom went over to me and gave me a corsage too.
“My auntie taught me how to use tampons.
My auntie talked me through it and showed me that it was fine.
She is my hero.”
AlexAelian
5.
“This is a maudlin story, but here we go: I was widowed quite young.
My husband was killed seven months into our marriage; we had lived together for several years.
It was unexpected and tragic, and I was obviously completely freaked out.
You know, for my eventual death.”
“I’d just gotten my hair cut and dyed into a tall blue mohawk.
I then went to Walmart to get some supplies.
I live in the South, so I should’ve known better.
I received a bunch of stares and dirty looks from the pearl-clutching older women.
That color blue is amazing.'
I really needed that confidence booster.”
kasibranham
7.
“One Christmas, my eldest was in the church play.
It was epically bad.
I was covered in vomit from the neck of my sweater to the top of my boot.
I went straight to the bathroom to give a shot to clean us both up.
Ten years later, I’m still friends with her.
She is always putting others before herself!”
“I was 17 and working at a supermarket.
There was a much older guy who worked there too, and he was the grocery/stock manager.
That person was named Beth.
The next thing I knew, I heard Beth yelling, ‘Um, hello?!
What are you doing?!
Back the FUCK up!’
She got in his face and pushed me out of there.
The next day, the guy got fired and Beth got a raise.”
Jane Dough
9.
“I have a chronic pain disorder that most prominently manifests as back pain.
Last week at the airport, I was struggling to carry my backpack.
That woman literally had my back by saving me from back pain.”
“I had to go to court to get a restraining order against my abusive ex.
I live in a different state from my friends and family, so I was all alone.
I didn’t even have a lawyer with me.
It was the first time I’d seen my ex since he hit me with a whiskey bottle.
I was shaking and crying so much.
I told her that I wasn’t, and she then asked if I needed a hug.
Six years later, I am still eternally grateful to that woman.”
KillaWatzzz
11.
“I was a new mother venturing out for the first time with my daughter.
I went to Sam’s Club and bought wipes, diapers, etc.
All went well until we got to the checkout counter.
In my new ‘mom brain,’ I had no idea what to do except tear up.
I hope that sweet soul who helped me knows just how much she helped me!”
She came over and gave me a hug, then told me that I was going to do great.
To that woman, wherever you are, thank you.
My baby girl is healthy and almost 7 months old now."
Queen_Love
13.
“It was my senior year of high school, and I was 18.
I was in a hotel room with a team mom chaperone, and I was feeling especially low.
I knew her as a generally nice lady, but nothing more.
She sat with me on the couch and asked if I’d ever seen the movieFernGully.I said I had.
It’s been 17 years, and I still remember how valued it made me feel.
I attempt to live up to the idea of ‘creating flowers’ wherever I am.”
When I got there, she said, ‘Miss, you have toilet paper hanging from your pants.’
I was so grateful that she told me, so I obviously thanked her.
All she said was, ‘We ladies have to take care of one another.’
“I’d just moved to Boston.
COVID-19 precautions were winding down, but outdoor seating was still everywhere.
I bought a couple ofmacaronsand was seated at an outdoor table enjoying them.
Can you understand me?'
I’m Asian, for context.
Flummoxed, the server turned to the older woman and said, ‘She can’t sit here.'”
It was starting to get late, so I decided to head back to my house.
(I’d stopped drinking and was fine to drive.)
Afterward, she gave me her cellphone number and told me to text her once I got home.
Molly E
17.
My friend’s mom noticed and sat down with me before my dad came to pick me up.
She told me that thebreakupwould hurt for a bit, but then I would feel better day by day.
She then said that I’ll eventually not think about the boy who broke my heart at all.
Thank you for being a mom figure to me that day in 2010."
Ann, 30, Germany
19.
“I was the main character in my school’s eighth-grade play.
I ended up skipping the entirety of the scene.
“I’m a military spouse.
I’m still friends with her; I love her and her entire family so much.”
“One instance in particular that stands out to me is from 2018.
I was at a Walmart near a small city’s hospital buying sheets for a med bed.
I was despondent, weary, and hyperfocused on my task while at self-checkout.
Then I saw this petite older woman staring at me with what looked like a disgust.
(I’m a Black woman in Waxahachie, Texas, so IYKYK.)
The woman stormed up to me and said, ‘YOU’RE TALL.’
It’s beautiful.'”
My ex-fiance was screaming at me the whole time, and he’d even threatened the male movers.
Then another older woman who lived nearby came to check on me.
She assured me that, after all this was over, I would be okay.
All three women who came by my side happened to be survivors of toxic relationships and abuse.
evilorc84
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
