Ashley England was taking her family out to dinner just like any other night. As any mother will know, some days your kids just don’t feel like abiding by the special rules set for “appropriate” behavior in public. These awkward situations are no different for parents of special needs children.
During their meal her 8-year old son, Riley, started to get rowdy. When he started to hit the table, yell loudly, and throw things a waitress approached the England’s table. Ashley braced herself for the incoming (deserved) complaints, but instead, received something else.
The waitress was tearing up as she handed Ashley a note. “I’ll try to do this without crying,” the waitress said. “Another customer has paid for your bill tonight and wanted me to give you this note.”
Ashley and her family were touched. Here’s Ashley’s take:
“To have someone do that small act towards us shows that some people absolutely understand what we are going through and how hard it is to face the public sometimes,” she said. “I felt like out of all the rude negative comments that we are faced with – these outweighs them. Little did he know what struggles we had been facing lately and this was surely needed at that moment.”
Random acts of kindness like this are inspiring. By paying for the England family’s dinner this person brightened the 4 England’s, the waitress, and probably their own. Incredible.