Kindness

I'm a bit behind the times, but this is my first ever Costa Christmas cup! In fact now I think about it, it's my first ever Costa takeaway..! I'm usually drinking my free coffee from Waitrose so why would I spend £2.50 on one?!

But I needed one. I'd just been to the opticians to have an eye check following my cluster of migraines - I thought I should check that it wasn't an eye issue causing them. I went to Specsavers and was really impressed by how thorough they were, doing a whole battery of tests to make sure everything was ok (which it was, phew!). Anyway, the lady who did my peripheral-vision test (which I aced, hurrah!) was also an exhausted mum, and we had a long discussion about how knackering motherhood could be (she had twins). I explained how I'd had the migraines, but also some terrible nights with Ted recently. She told me to tell my parents (who were looking after him) that the appointment had taken ages, and to go and get myself a nice coffee and have a relaxing wander around the shops! As I was leaving she said 'hang on a minute'... and disappeared, only to return with a voucher from a newspaper for a free Specsavers eye test - She was saving it for someone who needed it apparently, and I guess she thought I fit the bill. It was so lovely to receive genuine sympathy instead of well-meaning but ultimately unhelpful advice. I don't need to hear that I should leave my child to cry, or stop breastfeeding, or that *your* child slept 12 hours a night from 6 weeks old. All children are different and who's to say that what I've done or not done would have changed how my son sleeps? She offered pure understanding and sympathy, knowing I'm sure that it really was the best things she could do for me that day. Her kindness made me cry, as well as saving me £22.50, so I did indeed take her advice, hence the Costa. Customer service win; what a lovely lady. I'm a new fan of Specsavers.

Anyway, it seemed a lovely contrast to the grossness of last weeks's 'Black Friday'; kindness vs greed, generosity vs excess materialism.