Unfiltered Story #416599

I worked at Home Depot as a cashier for a while, and there’s a fuzzy little story that comes to mind now and then.

It’s January and we’re having a New Year’s clearance sale on some planter kits that can be grown indoors: things like catnip or peppermint plants. I’m on a shift contemplating picking up a peppermint plant to grow since I love peppermint tea, but they’re selling fast so the odds of me getting one are slim.

A mother and her daughter come through self checkout where I’m assigned, and among their many products are a couple of the planter kits. The mother calls me over because she needs some help scanning some of her items, and we get to chatting about the planter kits. She admits that she’s not good at growing anything, so she picked up a couple as “insurance”, and I mention that I’m considering getting myself one as well if there’s any left after my shift.

I help her bag up her purchase, and out of the corner of my eye I see her daughter tug on her shirt and whisper something to her. I don’t think much of it, and finish helping them out before returning to my usual spot.

As they’re preparing to leave, the mother nods to her daughter, who walks over and hands me a bag with one of the peppermint planters, and says “Happy holidays, miss!” with the biggest, sweetest smile I’ve ever seen a child have.

It was honestly the highlight of my whole week, and I still think about it sometimes when I feel down.