health
Kindness of strangers: The day of my mum’s funeral, the saleswoman at the stationery store made me feel less alone
Because I’d visited so often to print things, she made me feel that someone had witnessed the journey I was on, all the way through to its difficult conclusion
TL;DR
- The author's mother was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's disease and given six months to live in 2015.
- The author, living in Brisbane, visited her mother (600km away in Taree) every second weekend, printing boarding passes at Officeworks Taree.
- A specific saleswoman at Officeworks consistently asked about the author's mother and offered support.
- The author stayed with her mother for a month until she passed away two weeks after Christmas.
- On the day of her mother's funeral, the author went to Officeworks to print the eulogy and was again served by the same saleswoman.
- The saleswoman offered a significant hug and a free umbrella, providing comfort during the author's grief.
- This act of kindness made the author feel witnessed and less alone during a difficult journey.
- The author reflects on how many people become awkward around grief, contrasting it with the saleswoman's open empathy.