Random acts of kindness

Today is one of those days when I’m proud to be a member of the human race (and I don’t always feel like that).

Mum's 'French' flowers

My mother’s in hospital in Brisbane after falling and breaking her leg (she’s 87 years old so her bones aren’t as strong as they were. She used to bounce right back up again…)

I rang Lush Blooms to order flowers from myself and my sister and gave the young lady on the phone a simple brief – I’m from Cairns and my sister’s in France, do something evocative. I almost cried when I saw the beautiful bouquets she’d created. And then she helped me carry them quite a long way to my car.

I ended up in Myers at Carindale to buy some clothes since all I had with me at such short notice were work shirts and wool pants. None of them were  comfortable in the Brisbane heat. A delightful French sales lady in the Sportscraft department not only found me some lovely clothes but (since I’m vertically challenged) she hand hemmed a pair of pants to fit me. And the whole time she chatted, and soothed, and empathised at the worry of having an elderly sick parent. She’s a gem.

Then I met one of my mother’s nurses – a gentle, caring woman with an amazing talent for making every patient feel like an individual. In a huge hospital with so many wonderful staff, she stood out as exceptional. She listened to my mother’s somewhat convoluted stories, answered my questions and made sure nothing was too much trouble.

You could probably argue that all three women were just doing their job, but they went so much further than I ever expected, so much further than their job descriptions, so much further than they needed to.

Thank you, ladies. You made my day easier than it could have been.