{"id":14262,"date":"2016-11-02T16:51:16","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T06:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=14262"},"modified":"2024-07-02T11:41:21","modified_gmt":"2024-07-02T01:41:21","slug":"4-year-old-at-grocery-store-calls-lonely-widower-old-and-mom-is-floored-by-his-response","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/?p=14262","title":{"rendered":"4-Year-Old At Grocery Store Calls Lonely Widower \u2018Old,\u2019 And Mom Is Floored By His Response"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"dan<\/a>
\nThis is well worth reading.
\nBut DO grab the tissue box first.<\/p>\n

Georgia Mom Tara Wood was grocery shopping with her 4-year-old daughter Norah when the young girl hopped up in the cart and shouted, \u201cHi, old person!\u201d at a man passing by.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore I could tell Norah, \u2018Please use kind words,\u2019 the man stopped and said, \u2018Well, hi little lady! How are you today?\u2019 \u201d Wood tells PEOPLE.<\/p>\n

Norah and the man, 82-year-old Dan Peterson, chatted for a few minutes and then went their separate ways. Then Norah asked her mom if she could take a picture with her new friend.<\/p>\n

>Because it was Norah\u2019s fourth birthday, Wood agreed and the pair went back to find the man and ask him to take a photo.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we found him and asked him, he took a step back and put his hand on his chest and said, \u2018You want a photo with me?\u2019 \u201d the mom of seven recalls. \u201cHe was shocked and sort of delighted and Norah said, \u2018Yes, sir, for my birthday.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

After taking the photo, Norah and Peterson chatted for a few more minutes. When it was time to go, Wood told Norah to thank the man for being so friendly and agreeable.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo she thanked him and he said, \u2018No, thank you! You\u2019ve made me the happiest I\u2019ve been in a long time,\u2019 \u201d Wood says. \u201cHe was kind of tearing up and it was very sweet.\u201d<\/p>\n

>On the ride home, Wood says she couldn\u2019t stop thinking about the man and what may have drawn Norah to him. So, Wood wrote about the September 28 meeting on her Facebook writer page\u00a0and shared her photos from the encounter.<\/p>\n

The Augusta, Georgia, mom\u2019s post caught the eye of a local reader who knew Peterson had recently suffered a personal tragedy.<\/p>\n

“This reader sent me a message explaining that Dan\u2019s wife passed away in March and that he has been very sad and lonely and in a deep depression ever since,\u201d Wood says. \u201cShe said that this was the first time she had seen him smile since his wife died.<\/p>\n

Wood was touched. She asked the reader to pass along Peterson\u2019s contact information so that she could reach out.<\/p>\n

\u201cI called him the next day and he was tickled to hear from me,\u201d Wood says. \u201cWe talked for about 20 minutes and he told me what it meant to him and what he had been going through and I asked if we could take him out to lunch that Friday.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis voice cracked and I could tell he was getting emotional, but he said he would love to,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

When Friday rolled around, Norah and her mom went to Peterson\u2019s house to pick him up.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looked like a completely different person,\u201d Wood says. \u201cHe had gotten a haircut and trimmed his eyebrows and he was wearing slacks and a button-down \u2013 he had dressed up for us like we were coming to court him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peterson had even set up a little table with paper and crayons in his garden where Norah sat and made art for his refrigerator before the group headed out to lunch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe ended up spending three hours with him that day. He and Norah chatted like they had known each other forever. There was no getting to know each other it was just like the most natural thing in the world,\u201d Wood says. \u201cI was in awe.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNorah got ketchup all over her face and he wiped it off and he even let her finish his chicken nuggets,\u201d she continues. \u201cI just didn\u2019t think this lunch should be the end of their friendship.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood asked if it would be all right if she and Norah continued to have weekly visits with Peterson. \u201cHe said he would be delighted,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve seen him every week since,\u201d she says. \u201cWe always visit even if it\u2019s just for 15 or 20 minutes. We even celebrated his 82nd birthday with him \u2013 we took him balloons and a cupcake the size of his head.\u201d
\n\u201cI think she has given him a new lease on life and we\u2019re all better for it,\u201d Wood says. \u201cHe\u2019s part of our family now and I think we\u2019ll be friends until the end of his days.\u201d<\/p>\n

One month after the first meeting, Wood wrote about Norah and Peterson\u2019s remarkable friendship on the\u00a0Today Parents network.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeventy-eight years separate these two people in age,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSomehow, their hearts and souls seem to recognize each other from long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wood\u2019s post went viral and provoked happy tears around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never ever saw this wave coming,\u201d Wood says. \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten hundreds of messages from people around the world sharing their stories of grandparents or special elderly people in their lives. It has just been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She says she hopes the story will inspire others to \u201cslow down and not treat old people like they\u2019re invisible.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t take much \u2014 it could be as simple as helping someone reach something on a top shelf at the grocery store or just saying hello while you\u2019re standing in line,\u201d she says. \u201cI think people sometimes forget the elderly and it makes me sad to think of them being alone wishing their family or friends would reach out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo take a minute to say hi,\u201d Wood concludes. \u201cYou never know how it could change a person\u2019s life.\u201d<\/p>\n

https:\/\/people.com\/human-interest\/4-year-old-girl-befriends-elderly-widower-at-grocery-store-hes-part-of-our-family-now-says-mom\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This is well worth reading. But DO grab the tissue box first. Georgia Mom Tara Wood was grocery shopping with her 4-year-old daughter Norah when the young girl hopped up in the cart and shouted, \u201cHi, old person!\u201d at a man passing by. \u201cBefore I could tell Norah, \u2018Please use kind words,\u2019 the man stopped … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “4-Year-Old At Grocery Store Calls Lonely Widower \u2018Old,\u2019 And Mom Is Floored By His Response”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14262","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-interest","category-inspiration"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14262","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14262"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14262\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":52741,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14262\/revisions\/52741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14262"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14262"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomgrimshaw.com\/tomsblog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14262"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}