girls are so cute!

judsoncarroll4

I had a strong craving for ice cream after supper.... so, I made a trip to the grocery store. I ended up on an aisle with a family... probably home schooled. The 16-17 year old daughter was wearing a beautiful, long dress... gingham... like "Little House On The Prairie". I have every belief that she had made it herself. The rest of the family was dressed modern and not all that nice really... sweat shirts and such. But, this one, awkward, not especially pretty girl was wearing such a lovely dress. I lowered my bandana, pointed at her and said, "I LOVE that dress!" She said, "Thank you, sir!" She skipped and flitted away, every motion saying, "look at my pretty dress." It was so obvious, honest and artless.... simply sweet.

LaurieLovesLearning

Oh, that is a beautiful story! It makes my heart skip just as the little girl's would have. That will have meant a lot to her and it brings back memories of compliments that we witnessed our little girls receive. They are cute! I don't see that as much anymore as they have grown. Good memories.

Our second oldest has been sewing some simple, but beautiful Mennonite dresses. Some for her & some for her youngest sister, who is very proud of her dress and looking forward to more. It is so cute on her and for her older sister, such a good skill to have. It doesn't matter if we dress differently and we are proud of both.

I am so glad to hear of such a lovely exchange and that she is not afraid to be different. She wants to be beautiful! That little girl won't forget your kindness and most likely, if the parents heard, they won't either. 😃

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/883045#Comment_883045

It may sound trite, but I always make an effort to say something to make someone smile whenever I leave the house. It is actually easier to do than not, and I think it helps the social fabric.

Lisa K

@judsoncarroll4 sweet story, not only did you probably make her day but you gave her confidence in her abilities & her own/unique beauty.

Annie Kate

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/883052#Comment_883052

Not trite, just a good, lovely thing to do @judsoncarroll4 . Can you imagine if everyone did that? And I'm so glad you made the girl's day. She will likely never forget it. :)

judsoncarroll4

Well... I'm very uncomfortable taking credit for... or "tooting my own horn".... especially, when all I'm doing is just what comes naturally to most every child.

Really, it is more a shame that life beats us up so much that many stop being open and friendly. It is high school for most folks that does that. I don't talk about it much, but I've had many bad experiences in life.. a lot of abuse, bullying and mis-treatment in childhood, by a lot of people. Life is tough. I can't make people like me, so I don't try. But, that doesn't have to make me mistreat others.

At the same store, there is a little old black lady who has a very similar attitude. She was the first, and for a long time, the only person in the sandhills of NC who was even friendly to me.

Honestly, I've never lived in a less friendly place, where people openly try to rip you off, cheat you, look down on you, threaten violence if you complain...etc. I've been in big cities with tons more crime, where people were friendlier.

Fortunately, this is not home - I just have to be here sometimes due to family and work. Anyway, she's kind of unique in that when I ask, "How are you doing?" she tells me! Most folks will say, "fine, how are you?"

We were chatting the other day and I realized I was running late for an appointment, so I patted her on the shoulder and explained I had to run. She answered, "Oh, I know you've got to run, we'll talk later. But, before you go, I have to tell you how much I appreciate you patting my shoulder. Seems everyone is so scared of the virus no one will even shake your hand anymore. But, you just know how to make a person feel good!"

Well, that little old lady almost made me cry! People do notice, even in an area like this.

A while back, there was a guy in there, really in bad shape... shaking, probably homeless.. buying beer, a soda and no solid food with change. I just said hi, shook his hand and and slipped him a a few dollars. I didn't have much on me - couldn't have been more than $5. He looked at me all shocked and almost scared, asked "What is this for?" I just said, "Nothing brother, just thought I'd buy your beer." He said, "God bless you" about three times, then told the cashier to wait while he got some meat and bread.

I didn't hang around, just left and said a prayer for him. About a month later, I came up short at the register and was going to put something back. The girl called her manager, smiled at me and said, "don't worry, we've got it." She was the cashier that night,... you just never know, but a kind word is never wasted. That said, it has gotten me in trouble, too... did I ever tell y'all about the hitchhiker I picked up who was on the way to kill his boss?!!!!!!

LaurieLovesLearning

Now I don't know what go say to that last bit but awkward & scary!

At the somewhat beginning of the virus (late spring?), we met up with a friend who cannot work due to some mental challenges. If you saw him, you would immediately assume homeless, on the street, probably on drugs, etc. and you might think crazy & scary. The guy can hold his own like anyone on the street & they all know him in that city. He would give his life for you, no question. He is that kind. He is one of our respected great friends from Judo & we help him out whenever we can.

Anyway, we had just got through the till at a huge grocery store. Everyone was very hesitant to do anything at that time. Touch was beginning to be very discouraged. Distancing was big already and we were mindful of it at that time.

Anyway, he asked about our oldest (we were going through some very rough things right then) and we had a heart to heart with him. He said how he was doing. He and his sister who was present gave us both hugs. Of course, those were returned. His is the only outside our household hug that we have given in recent memory as we are respecting guidelines.

We got stared at by probably everyone at the tills. No matter. It was important. Those people would not have understood, even in normal times. He needed strong support that day too. He needed us as we needed him. We have never regretted nor felt guilty about that event. Touch is that important.

Unfortunately now we would/could not do that because he could not afford the $1300 fine he would get. We couldn't do that to him. We could not afford the $2600 fine. He would understand. It is a sad thing, to be sure. :(

judsoncarroll4

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/883166#Comment_883166

It is all so weird. It seems everyone is living on their phones... no human contact.

LaurieLovesLearning

Weird. Yes. I had a bunch written, but don't want to turn the thread sour because there is enough of that around us. Maybe just writing it out (and deleting it) will help me feel better. I don't know.

I appreciate those who shine at least a little light during this time. We need more of those people to step up & to decide to not partake in the evil attitudes that are so readily encouraged. Nobody needs to break any rules to do it either. We just have to determine that we will support others no matter what situation we find ourselves in. It does a heart good to be kind and it blesses others more than we may know.

Thank you Judson for stepping up and being purposeful in your kindness shown to others. You are a good example of what each of us can purpose to do...every day.

Brindy

That is so awesome @judsoncarroll4 , you made that girls day and I'm glad you found another nice person out there in NC. I don't know what I'd do in a place like that. Here where we are in Texas there are mostly good genuine people, but there are the others too. I miss the smiles and physical contact and it breaks my heart that we are going into winter with coronavirus still taboo. Everyone keeps saying that it's the new normal, but I just want things to go back. I want to breath fresh air and not my bad breath, I want to smile and be smiled back at, and, I want hugs and handshakes. I'm not trying to be a Debbie downer, but for us extrovert southerners this has been so hard. By the way @judsoncarroll4 I truly enjoy reading your posts, you are so knowledgeable.

Lisa K

Once when my Dad and I have been out to breakfast there was an older couple both were on their phones instead of talking to one another - it was sad.

Linda Bittle

In my current job, I get to talk to a lot of strangers. Who are lying in a hospital bed, allowed only to have 1 family member visit for 2 hours every day. The same family member every day.

Even rocking the hairnet and mask, almost every single patient I talk to craves even the tiniest bit of real human interaction. I try to make taking their meal orders something to look forward to.

It is good for them, and it is good for me to take a minute and look each other in the eye, smile, have a conversation about meatloaf verses chicken salad, and sometimes even touch hands.

Follow your instincts and make connections where and how you can. Stay safe, and stay humane.