
You know when the air gets chilly, the decorations are up, and Christmas is all around? Well, mom of two and resident of Fort Myers, Florida, Mary Katherine Backstrom sure does. She was feeling totally filled with holiday spirit on a Friday afternoon. While feeling festive, she was hanging around her local convenience store, Wawa, killing time before she picked her kids up from school, and she decided to let her Christmas vibe fly.
Why not, right? She was simply in a happy mood and wanted to share the joy! She had also just watched an uplifting video about random acts of kindness, and so she decided to pay it forward by her own small act of kindness. She looked behind her in line and saw that a woman was purchasing a beverage, so Mary Katherine decided to pay for her drink.
The two shared a beautiful moment, and then Mary Katherine walked out of the Wawa. It seems her joyous mood had taken over, though, because in that moment, she thought she was viewing another small act of kindness, or even a tiny Christmas miracle. She made a hilarious mistake. It was so funny, she had to share it with her Facebook followers, and when she did, she got more than she bargained for. But hey! It was all in the spirit of Christmas and good humor.
Mary Katherine told LittleThings about what happened at Wawa. She said, "I had just read an article about the magic of the holidays and it just sent me into holiday mania." We can all relate, right? When you're feeling that holiday spirit, it can be hard not to see joy all around.
After she paid for the woman's drink, they exchanged pleasantries and talked about what a joyful time of year it is. It's hard to argue with, honestly. It feels like everyone is a little extra willing to go out of their way for one another. Mary Katherine sure was, and so she started to see that same kindness reflected elsewhere, too.
When she walked out of the store, she was still in her kind of dreamy holiday world. "I was living in The Christmas Carol," she said. That's when she saw it — a man washing the windshield of her car. Another Christmas miracle! Or so she assumed …
Mary Katherine was, of course, overjoyed at the sight and to know that the Christmas spirit was alive and well. She approached the man and started talking to him. "This was a Hallmark movie situation," she said. She was utterly convinced that Christmas was all around.
She hugged the man and thanked him. Then she told him how much she loves this time of year. She told him she loved not only that but — wait for it — humanity. But before she had time to notice what was likely a very confused expression on his face, she noticed something else.
What did she notice? That the car he was washing was not, in fact, her car. Oh no — it was his own car. Mary Katherine says what happened immediately after this realization was a pretty big blur, but she excused herself so that she could quickly get away.
After that, she did what just about anyone would do. She burst into hysterical laughter. She wanted to leave the parking lot but says she only made it a few parking spots over. She was laughing way too hard too drive. She parked and let her laughter, and her Christmas spirit, keep on rolling.
Thankfully, Mary Katherine decided to get out her phone and record a video for Facebook live. She didn't wait until she had calmed down. She simply had to share what had transpired with her audience. As a writer and a blogger, Mary Katherine already had a bit of a following. She didn't anticipate how many people would see the video, though.
Since sharing it on Friday afternoon, Mary Katherine's "Christmas Kindness" video has had 37 million views. It's unbelievable and yet … believable! Her video is just plain relatable. So many of us have felt those warm and fuzzy holiday feelings. It's pretty easy to understand how the incident happened.
If you haven't checked out the adorable video yet, make sure you do, because it really is sweet and incredibly funny. You can also follow Mary Katherine's adventures on her page, Mom Babble, where she documents her motherhood journey and her hilarious missteps. Fortunately, for the entire internet and Mary Katherine herself, this one was just too funny not to share.