Me: having a rough day, crying, and realizing I needed to go pick up something from my nearby NW Trader Joes.
You: kindly manning the entrance, letting my mask adorned peers in one by one.
I was sniffling in line, feeling embarrassed about it and trying to pull myself together. Our eyes met briefly and you ushered me through the front door. I grabbed my items and took them to the register, feeling sorry for myself about a million little things, and thinking about how if even one person asked how I was I would definitely burst into tears. That's when you walked up with a small bouquet of flowers and said gently "hey, these are for you." And I was right—I erupted into an inconsolable ugly cry right there at the register. I'm pretty sure I made you and you're co-worker uncomfortable (and for that I am so sorry), but I also want to thank you for being so very kind to a stranger, when you yourself must feel stressed out and worried going to work everyday in this time of uncertainty, misinformation, and imminent danger. You didn’t have to be nice and you didn’t have to care (I wouldn’t have blamed you) but you were, and you did, and your one small gesture impacted my whole evening so much so that I’m still thinking about it. You were a bright spot on my day, and a thousand brownie points for humanity. I’ll try to pass it on.