Raising a child takes a village, actually it takes the population of the world. We're all in the creation of a human together but we rarely take part. And even in adulthood people need help for survival from those that are not blood. Sometimes all anyone needs is a hug to let them know they aren't alone in the world. That can make all the difference. Some people are just born parents, not just to their own children but all others and they have know idea of the difference they make to others.
Redditor u/GreenChorizo wanted to know who has benefited from the kindness of parents that are not their own by asking.... What's the nicest thing someone else's parents did for you?
The View.
My mother and father in law showed up to my dad's viewing after he died since my wife (my best friend at the time) couldn't be there. I had not expected to see them and I was blown away that they'd come. Hynjia
As their Son.
My best friend's parents basically took me in as their son, I don't have a bad relationship with my parents or anything but when I lived with my dad during the summer I basically never left their house. They took me everywhere with them. I still consider them my adoptive family and see them every week since I moved back to my hometown. alltgethings1776
Refill.
GiphyMy girlfriend's Dad refilled my lunch account with money without me even saying anything about it. A swell guy he is. AtticusNari
Tears.
The first time I visited my bf's country his parents cried on the airport while dropping me off and later told me they cried on the car for the whole one hour drive back home. japzilian_de
'Happy Birthday'
One year my dad was in hospital recovering from a heart attack and I didn't really celebrate my birthday because we were all visiting, helping my mum and generally worrying about him. No big deal, didn't matter to me at all.
The next weekend I went to stay with a friend from uni and crashed at her parents' house. At dinner time they brought out a cake with candles and sang 'Happy Birthday' because she'd told them about everything that was going on. I thought it must be someone else's birthday at first! So kind of them and I've never forgotten it. charlie1701
anonymous.....
GiphyWhen my mother's mental illness was at her worst, my then-bf's mom learned that we had no heat (but electric was okay), and she bought multiple electric space heaters for us.
Later, the mother of my sister's best friend (at least, I strongly suspect it was her, but it was technically anonymous . . . whoever it was though, was definitely a parent) paid for my mother to go to a psychiatric hospital for a week.
Overall, so many parents and teachers in my town pitched in to make sure my sister and I were okay when our single mother's mental health went off the walls. There was the mom who dropped by to check on us every evening when we were home alone for a week when my mom was in said psychiatric hospital; another who brought us food. I'm sure I don't even know all the acts of kindness people did and I'm tearing up just thinking about it. sazed_sassypants
Bye Dad.
I am transgender. When I was 19, I got my top surgery and my unaccepting (at the time) father verbally berated me and manipulated me into thinking that because I went through our insurance, I screwed the family over (he basically told me that insurance works like a credit card and that I used up all the money the family had and no one in the family could use our insurance for the rest of the year thanks to me).
I couldn't handle the verbal abuse, and my family already treated me like garbage, so I decided to live in my car until I could live on my own, but my friends mom (who is a nurse) discovered this, and she offered to bring me in to their home and took care of me while I recovered. She changed my bandages and asked lots of questions so she could learn about my experience transitioning. On the day I moved there, the whole family stayed up late watching bad horror movies and they invited me to join. It was the first time I ever felt part of a family.
On Thanksgiving they even had me eat with them and asked my opinion about a name to give the new family puppy. She even offered to house me longer than I had intended , but I was ready to be on my own. I have always held her in the highest regard. The friend I stayed with is still very dear to my heart, even if we have become a little distant. fayekingdrag
Med School Future.
GiphyGood friend's dad who coached us back in the day in football, was on the head committee at my high school and he fought singlehandedly for me not to get kicked out my senior year, when I got a DUI. Kind of one of those who you know type of situations, but some people told me he was the only reason I got to stay. I feel like it definitely would have thrown my life path off a bit. I'm in medical school now. catfishjimmy39
Teeth.
The dentist mom of a friend identified a dental problem i had upon meeting me once and hooked me up with a cream that helped within a week. The-Tewby
Shoe Help.
Only thing I could think of on the fly was they bought me the steel toe boots I needed for my new job. My first payday was a two weeks away, my payday from my old job was keeping the lights on and food for the family, and I had to start work in two days. I told my buddy my problem, and asked if he had an extra pair laying around.
He said he didn't but he's check with his dad. They called me the next morning and told me they'd go to the store and buy me a pair. I got the cheapest pair they had but it got me started and I was able to pay them back and get me really good pair later. But at the time it certainly was a selfless gesture from two wonderful people. sbashe5
Best Dad Ever.
GiphyAfter a long term GF and I broke up, her dad would still call me up whenever he was in town and take me out for food because he missed finding new restaurants with me and wanted to make sure I was getting out of my apartment and my head.
I don't miss my ex, but I do miss her dad. i_draw_boats
Escape.
The parents of my best friend let me live with them for a month to help me escape from my abusive mother. I was 14. I didn't tell her but the police did. vankerina
Next Sunday.
Gf's mom helped pay my rent twice never asked her too let her know she didn't have to her reply? "She loves you. your family to us. I would do this for her I'm gonna do it for you" plan on getting engaged next Sunday. tolandxiv
Good people.
My dad died of cirrhosis when I was 17. He went into the hospital and stayed there for 3 weeks before he passed. In that time, my girlfriend's parents immediately offered me their home as my own. The fed me 3 meals/day. Made sure I had clean clothes. More importantly, they were there for me mentally. We had long talks. They legitimately cared about me and I'm so grateful for that. That was over 20 years ago and I still think about them. Good people. Sirnando138
In Grief.
GiphyThey came to my dad's funeral. I wasn't expecting them to be there, but the whole damn family showed up. It meant so much to me, that they were there. QueenMoogle
forever grateful.....
My parents thought going to the movies were a waste of money. The only way I can watch them is on cable, many months after. So my aunt found out about that and took my sister and I, along with her own kids to watch awesome movies like the Lord of the Rings trilogy and many more fantasy and scifi films. It sounds so simple but it was a pretty big deal for a kid. I'm forever grateful. rootingfordaenerys
My first love's mom bought me a car. I've always felt guilty about it. I don't deserve good people to do good thing like that for me... That car made it possible for me to do so many things. I probably wouldn't be where I am today without her generosity. Outrageous_Claims
My Fabulous Future.
My future wife's parents treat me as one of their own. They are some of the nicest people I've ever known. They completely accept me and don't judge me. I can safely say they are the parents that I wish I had. Reddit
Include Everyone.
My best friend had divorced parents who struggle financially and an abusive step dad. My parents made it a point to always include her in our vacations, and trips. Always let her spend the night or come to dinner with us whenever we wanted. She was basically my sister. During the summer she'd spend 2-3 weeks just chillin' with us.
Her dad had another family in Mexico and her mom was broke but worked a lot and always told her she was a burden. She's been my best friend for 10 years now. I'm really proud of my parents for including her in everything we did with no question. It was like "of course she's coming, if her mother's ok with it" <3. Admirable-Cat
Stay With Me.
GiphyLet me sleep in their basement, fed me warm meals, and let me shower at their house for weeks while I was kicked out of my house at 18 in the middle of a particularly cold winter.. All against the wishes of my parents who they were friends with. My second family showed up to help when my own family would not. Got so much love for them for that. I felt as though I had lost absolutely everything at that point in my life. They stayed by me. Whodamamuh
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.