An act of kindness made me feel old!

I can hardly walk but many times when offered a seat in shop etc, I’ve grinned and told the truth when saying no thank you. I always explain. Truth being that it’s easier to stand rather than sit down and get up again. !!!

On the reverse side, I'm 59 and a while back just happened to dye my hair blonde for a change. One morning I'm on the bus, this kid of about 13 gets on and shouts " hello darling" to me....it was hilarious

The young man in my opticians always calls me ‘dear’ and says ‘Ah, bless you’ when I described the problem I have with my glasses. This is not everyday chat in this part of the UK so I can only think I look really old.

I know what you mean but how nice there are some lovely kind young people out there

One day , on the way to work, it was icy, so I was wearing those things over my boots that are supposed to stop you slipping over and falling.
They worked well until I decided to take a short cut through the shopping centre to the back door of my workplace .
I forgot I had the things on my boots and did a real Bambi and ended up flat on my back on the floor!
2 very kind elderly people literally picked me up off the floor! I was only in my 50s at the time but felt I should have been older than them !

I just think we should accept any act of kindness no matter how big or small. We need to be non judgemental or ageist and just be grateful somebody offers their help.

People have recently started allowing me on the bus before them. It’s lovely but I didn’t realise I looked quite that old despite my 67 years. I always do a bit of a bouncy walk when I get off the bus to show I’m not in my dotage!

I wouldn’t have over through it, I would have thought her parents brought her up with manners and I would have said to her tell your parents they should be proud of you. I’ve also had it done to me and the young lad give me the biggest grin when I said to him. Because not many do it nowadays. It’s like I was sitting on the seat near driver and I noticed not many said thanks anymore. I always thank drivers

I’m a bit wobbly though only 62. I am very glad that people offer kindness, especially with a heavy (to me heavy, I make every effort to pack light) suitcase on our rail system.

Fortifies my faith in human nature.

Aw that was sweet of her. When I was a child/ teenager anyone over the age of 40 was ancient lol
On the positive side, at least you got a seat lol ?

Oh how lovely. I sprained my shoulder last week and ventured out for the first time again yesterday. When I was getting off the bus with a very heavy (to me) shopping trolley the driver jumped out of his cab and lifted it off the bus with no trouble. I couldn’t thank him enough!

DH used to get huffy when offered a seat. I said you must accept or you will put off the person offering to someone else another times, as arewethereyet says above. Nice to sit down anyway and it makes the person who made the offer feel good. Doubles all round!!

How kind - I’m always annoyed when left standing on bus, tube or train!
Nice to see some manners xxx

Pre pandemic, I was coming home on the plane after holidaying at my son's. I was recovering from a heavy cold which had done the rounds whilst I was there. As I went to order coffee, I lost my voice! The man in the seat next to me was lovely, he got the coffee sorted for me, got my case down on arrival and generally made sure I was OK till we got in the airport.

I gratefully receive any help and always thank the driver

The first time I was offered a seat on the tube it caught me totally off guard. To be honest I was horrified and declined, with grudging thanks. I was early 60s, in jeans, make-up, dyed hair. How could I possibly look like I needed a seat? It was quite a long and unpleasant journey and I was clinging on for dear life. The young man, and his mother as it happened, alighted at the same stop. I apologised to him for being so ungracious, thanked him for his kindness and told him I regretted my decision as soon as I had refused. His mum in turn thanked ME for speaking to him as he had felt guilty for maybe upsetting me!! Whoever knew a tube journey could be so complicated? What a lovely family. Lesson learnt on my part!

An opposite story ,I went to our local hospital to the physio dept waiting area shared with the maternity O. P.D A
very pregnant girl arrived, only 3 widely space chairs 2 occupied by men, not elderly. I offered her my seat which she took. Men sat looking at the floor!

A few years we were on holiday in Vietnam, nearly every time we crossed the road a young Vietnamese person rushed up, took our arms and guided us over the road. Often they wanted to stop and chat for 5 minutes to practice English and on one occasion a student who helped us took us to a traditional Vietnamese house and a coffee house for traditional egg coffee. I said how nice and helpful people were and she said old people are always respected. I thought we looked young 60 years olds. ?

There was a programme on the radio today about kindness. Apparently many people do not offer help for fear of offending. We just have to remember that age is relative - a person of 60 is ‘old’ to someone in their thirties!

Oh, I always accept with a smile. It's a perk of being old, as I tell the kind person... I only get annoyed when I am the one who gets up for someone older, because the young people pretend not to have seen them.

The same thing happened to me on the tube, at just 60, I said no thanks!
Pride comes before a fall, hopefully not literally!

Baggs

My feeling is that if an act of kindness makes me feel old, I probably am old. I feel like this because throughout my life I have experienced random acts of kindness.

How about we stop being ageist about this and just accept kindness when it is offered as simply an act of kindness?

If the act is age-related, then it's age-related. And if it isn't age-related then it isn't.

But the point is, it's kindness! Enjoy it. We are forever being told to "be kind".

Absolutely what I was going to say, I will often offer help to people who look like they could do with it, whether younger or older, it's more down to whether they look like they're struggling / having a bad day / whatever, than age.

I was standing at the trolley bank outside the supermarket for about three seconds looking for my 'trolley £1' when the girl behind me said 'are you getting a trolley today'? Definitely made me feel old - and quite violent, cheeky cow!

Sods Law that I now get more offers from handsome young men to lift my suitcase into overhead racks than I ever did when young ....

? me too ?

I think it's worth remembering that people offer help for all sorts of reasons, and not just assume it's because they think we look old. Some people are just kind and well mannered. I once got a tongue lashing from someone in a wheelchair when I offered to help her get around a tight bend on a ramp. She was obviously having difficulty and looked a bit frazzled. She did get up the ramp but looked in a furious temper by the time she got into the shop and I imagine some poor shop assistant paid the price.

I’ve always been grateful when people give me a seat on the tube. I was recently using a crutch and it worked like magic on the buses, not so much now I’m able bodied. I ask for help when necessary. Once when about to go on holiday I found I couldn’t lift my suitcase down the stairs to the front door so I asked a young man going past walking his dog. He bounded up the stairs and lifted it easily.