Grateful for the interactions I had on the bus. via /r/gratitude

I'm not the most sociable person, nor do I come across as very approachable thanks to my major resting grumpy face. I've been travelling for 12 hours today so probably look worse than usual because of exhaustion. I definitely didn't feel like talking and just wanted to sit with my suitcase and go to sleep on the bus.

But, as any reasonable person would, when she got on the bus and I saw she was disabled and needed my spot, I moved. She sat there and she was all smiles and praise – not just for me, but for literally everyone on the bus, telling them they were lovely.

She asked me three times in the space of a minute of I was okay and I said yes each time, keeping myself as cheerful as I could sound despite being tired. She then said I was lovely and I replied that I thought she was quite a lovely woman too. From there, we spoke for ages – she told me about her life, her late partner, her kids, her job. I told her all about mine too. A lot of compliments were exchanged, as well as some small talk. In the end, she got off the bus even happier than before, glad to have had someone to talk to. I waved her goodbye, she blew me a kiss. It made me laugh, she was very sweet.

Just as I started typing this, another older woman came to me to tell me it was lovely to watch me interact with the old lady, which also made me smile because I'm glad someone else felt the warmth I did, even if second hand.

I'm grateful for the interaction because it brought me smiles and warmth after a long, exhausting day. I got to have a glimpse into the world through the eyes of a woman kinder and happier than me. I got to feel connected with someone outside of myself and my close friends. It was all around lovely. 🙂