Kindness is a strong quality that has the potential to improve people’s lives. We never know what an individual is going through, but lending an extra help might make their day less difficult and more calm. You never know when you will be needing an act of kindness, so always remember to sprinkle a little kindness wherever you may go. Read this beautiful story.
Source: Reddit
This all started a while ago, when my neighbours across the road. They were an independent old couple, but they couldn’t do strenuous tasks such as shoveling snow, mowing lawn, gardening etc. as the husband had a rare muscle disease ever since he was a teenager, and the wife had grown frail over the years.
Every time it snowed, or they needed their lawn mowed, anything they needed, I would do my best to help them. My brother would help sometimes, but rarely ever helped, as he was never a morning person, and had his own life and reasons.
The old couple would try to pay me, and I would turn down constantly, saying I don’t need it, my pockets are full etc etc. Then my mom came into the picture. She would come out to help and go to the porch to wait for them to come out, taking any money they wished to grab.
Finally, they would start calling my name and asking for me to come inside, that’s when I saw that he was a coin collector. I asked about his coins, what type he collected, etc etc. He was surprised someone younger like me would be that interested in collecting coins. It became a routine that every time something came up, he would tell me about his new coins.
At one point, he told me I would get his entire coin collection when he passed. I felt honored, and had no idea what to say! I told my mother, and she was confused, but believed me, and was happy.
Jump to about 2 months ago, and the old man died due to a bout with bone cancer. Instantly I was shocked, and sad. My mom on the other hand, was excited. She asked things like “when are you getting the collection?” and “what are you gonna do with it?”. This gave me a weird feeling, but I thought nothing of it.
Eventually I did get his collection, and after going through it, it was estimated I might have around $50K-$100K! I was floored! I told my parents I was going to sort through it all, and I was going to keep the more expensive coins to myself, saving them for later in life, and selling duplicates, or the lesser coins. My mom would joke at “maybe you should start paying some rent, hahaha” and odd comments saying I should start to contribute to the house more. My dad was not for it, saying I should save these for my education, and for later in life.
All throughout the next months, my mom would look through my collection, eyeing up the expensive pieces, and would ask “are you giving some to your brother?”. I would say I would share some of it, but not a large portion, as he didn’t go over to help nearly as much, and I generally had a bond with the old man. My mom didn’t like this response. She was calling me “an a**hole”, “greedy”, and would tell my dad behind my back “that boy is selfish, he always has been”. I’ll admit in the past I’ve been a bit stingy when it comes to spending money, but nothing ever extremely selfish, I would always offer to help my family, and even suggested that part of my paychecks go towards house upgrades in the future. Am I A Jerk?
How would you react after hearing such accusations? Here are a few comments on the story where it was originally posted:
