Welcome to Mothership: Parenting stories you actually want to read, whether you're thinking about or passing on kids, from egg-freezing to taking home baby and beyond. Because motherhood is a big if — not when — and it's time we talked about it that way.
Here it is: your daily dose of "humans aren't all horrible." It comes in the form of a small, random, thankless act of kindness towards a stressed-out mom and her toddler — in McDonald's of all places. And it might give you hope that America can maybe get over itself and just be nice to people already. Maybe.
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Mom Tiffany Miller posted in a now-viral open letter on Facebook that she and her 3-year-old daughter had reached a standstill in the bathroom of a Kansas McDonald's this week.
"You heard me tell her we had a long drive home and she needed to use the potty," Miller writes to the nameless stranger who ended up helping her. "You heard her tell me she was scared the toilet would flush while she was sitting on it. I couldn't convince her I would block the sensor...Then, you stepped in."
The woman who overheard Miller and her daughter was possibly familiar with this scene, as are so many parents, caregivers, teachers...the list goes on. And she offered the best thing a kind stranger can offer, in this mom's humble opinion (no, not advice, please, never advice): bribery!
"You told her you would give her a bracelet if she would go potty for Mommy," Miller writes. "She perked up and agreed...You told her the bracelet would be waiting outside the stall for her. I turned to say thank you, but you were already gone. Outside the stall was a bracelet and a mini Snickers bar."
Miller also shared a photo of her daughter, home safe and sound asleep — bracelet still on, of course. "I wish I could have thanked you in person, but maybe you will see this. If not, hopefully it inspires someone else to be kind like you were."
Let this be inspiration for all of us to do something nice for a stranger today — or at least donate to the ACLU (again). Because kindness is good for your health and for the future of humanity.