A routine breakfast with his children turned into a heartwarming moment for a man and his children when the kindness of a stranger left him speechless.
The Californians were eating at a local restaurant in Suisun City when they requested the check. But the waiter arrived with a heartfelt note explaining that his check had already cleared. The note, scribbled on a piece of paper, read: “For my daughter’s birthday we are doing random acts of kindness. Their dad left so we chose you to hang out with your baby. Enjoy!”
The anonymous father on Reddit said he was so touched by the moment that he had tears in his eyes. He said News week he was “certainly surprised”, and added. “We asked for the check and our waitress brought the note instead. Once the initial shock wore off, it made me grateful.”
He later decided to share the story with Reddit’s r/MadeMeSmile community, where it quickly gained traction, sparking hundreds of comments and stories of similar gestures.
The father, who regularly takes his children out for breakfast as part of a treasured weekly ritual, says the experience has inspired him to show kindness. “We spent the rest of the day paying tribute to the kindness we received,” he said in a post on Reddit. “[It] Made my eyes well up a bit.”
PoseyPark said: “How kind! These acts really make it easier to catch the kindness bug and want to spread it.”
Another Reddit user, kieto333, shared a similar memory: “An old boss of mine used to do this. Wherever he ate lunch, he would choose someone at random to buy him lunch. Usually an older couple. generally very “by the book”.
Unknown_Goose shared: “This happened to me yesterday, a nice couple bought me a friend’s meal. So I decided to pay it forward and pay for the meals of a mother and her two children. It’s always better to pay it forward.”
The story has even inspired others to consider adopting the tradition. “I think I would like to make this for my daughter’s birthday in March. It suits her perfectly,” wrote user wehadthebabyitsaboy.
Even though the stranger who left the message chose to remain anonymous, his kind gesture left a mark on the dad who was delighted by the moment, and the response on Reddit.
“Reddit can be toxic,” he said. “Sometimes it’s nice to share something that makes people smile. It’s inspired a lot of people to share similar stories of goodwill and generosity. We need more of that, and not just in December.”
