I've worked at a small local grocery store in the town I live in three separate times. The first was from October 2023 - June 2024, the second was from February 2025 - April 2025, and I'm currently working there now.

The first time I worked there, I became familiar with an older lady (in her 70's) because on the colder days, she'd wear a big fluffy jacket with cats all over it when she came to the store. I love cats, so the first time I saw her with this jacket, I immediately complimented it. She was already a regular customer before I'd started working there, so it didn't take long to remember her face. We ended up getting in the habit of chatting whenever she came in. I learned that her name is Judith, and she LOVES to refer to herself as a crazy cat lady. In fact, the last time I saw her over a week ago, she said, "tell your boss that the crazy cat lady down the street said to give you a raise."

The second time I worked there, she was glad to see I was back. When March came around, during one of our chats I mentioned that I was gonna take a day off for my 20th birthday later that month. She told me, "well I'll have to bake you some cookies for your birthday, then." I'd told her a couple weeks prior though, and so the moment had slipped my mind by the time my birthday came around.

But the first day I worked again after my birthday - it was like 2 days after - I was coming out of the restroom in the back when I heard someone calling my name. I walked back up to the front and saw Judith there. She came up to me and, sure enough, handed me a Ziploc bag with 5 cookies in it and wished me a happy late birthday. It took all I had to not tear up in front of her. It was even more impactful to me because not only had I never gotten anything like that from someone I barely knew, but I'd even forgotten she said she'd do that for me. She remembered to take the time out of her day to make the cookies for me when she didn't even have to. I mean, it's not like I could've held it against her if she didn't. And then she even had the humility to say, "they aren't my best work, but I wanted to do something for you."

After she left I called my mom and boyfriend and cried while I told them each what happened. I just wish I knew when her birthday was so I could do something nice for her.