A Wichita mom’s Facebook post thanking the stranger who saved her from a stressful situation in a McDonald’s restroom has gone viral.
Tiffany Miller composed the post late on Saturday night, shortly after getting her 3-year-old tucked in to bed, a black-and-silver bracelet encircling her tiny wrist. Three days later, the heartwarming post has gone viral, having been shared on national websites like PopSugar and Love What Matters and the Parents magazine website. It was even shared on Yahoo’s homepage.
As of Tuesday morning, the post on Tiffany’s Facebook page had been shared nearly 7,000 times and had about 19,000 “likes.”
“I never imagined so many people would see it,” said Miller, a mom of three who works as an accountant at Koch Industries.
It was about 10 p.m. Saturday night when the Miller family was finally headed home from watching Cameron, 8, play in an all-day basketball tournament at Salina South High School. They stopped at the McDonald’s on Ninth Street to get drinks and use the restroom before embarking on the 90-minute trip back to Wichita.
Tiffany’s two daughters, Ainsley, age 3, and Lakyn, 5, told their mom they needed to use the restroom. Dad Jared and Cameron went to wait in the car while Tiffany took the girls.
But while in the stall with her mom, Ainsley quickly realized that the McDonald’s restroom was equipped with one of those scary automatic flushers known for activating a wet and noisy whoosh without warning. Three-year-old girls hate that, and Ainsley was definitely not interested.
“Ainsley said, ‘No mamma. I can hold it. I will be fine!’” and I said. “No, we should probably go before we get in the car.”
Ainsley continued to resist, and Tiffany was debating whether to push the issue. Then she heard a voice from behind her.
“She said, ‘If bahis you’ll go potty for your mommy, I’ll give you this bracelet,’” Tiffany said.
Now Ainsley was interested. She grinned and said, ‘OK.’”
Tiffany quickly sprung into action before her daughter changed her mind. They finished their business and exited the stall, where they found a black-and-silver bracelet, a piece of costume jewelry that was missing one of its faux gems, sitting on the counter along with a mini-Snickers bar. The woman was gone.
Ainsley was thrilled. She put Betticket the bracelet on her arm and wore it the whole way home. She was asleep when the family arrived home around midnight, so Tiffany carried her in and put her in her own bed.
“After a while, she rolled over and put her hand on me, and I saw the bracelet on her arm,” Tiffany said.
She pulled out her phone, pulled up Facebook and started typing.
“To the Woman in the Salina, KS McDonald’s bathroom:
You heard me as I reasoned with a 3 year old to use the bathroom. You heard me tell her we had a long drive home and she needed to use the potty. You heard her tell me she was scared the toilet would flush while she was sitting on it. I couldn’t convince her I would block the sensor and keep that from happening. She promised she could hold it and wouldn’t pee in the car.
Then, you stepped in. You told her you would give her a bracelet if she would go potty for Mommy. She perked up and agreed. I turned to quickly put her on the potty (before she changed her mind). You told her the bracelet would be waiting outside the stall for her. I turned to say thank you, but you were already gone. Outside the stall was a bracelet and a mini Snickers bar.
Her eyes lit up as she put the bracelet on after using the bathroom. We made it home to Wichita safely and she is currently sleeping soundly next to me…still wearing the bracelet.
Thank you for your kindness! I wish I could have thanked you in person, but maybe you will see this. If not, hopefully it inspires someone else to be kind like you were.
Sincerely,
A Grateful Mother”
Tiffany said she didn’t get a good look at the woman and couldn’t even guess her age. She looked around for her in the lobby of the restaurant and in the McDonald’s parking lot before they left but didn’t see anyone that could have been her.
Ainsley has rarely taken her bracelet off since them, Tiffany said. She refers to the lady in the restroom as “Her.”
“She’ll put it on and she’ll say, ‘Look at what she gave me, Mommy. This is from her!” Tiffany said.
Tiffany said she hoped that somehow the mystery woman would see her thank-you post. Being a parent is hard, and sometimes, you worry you’ll be judged in tough situations. The lady in the restroom didn’t judge, Tiffany said. She just helped.
She said she’s been hearing nonstop from friends and strangers who said they loved the story.
“I think people just like that it’s a nice, feel-good story,” Tiffany said. “A lot of people have commented that it’s nice to read a positive story and to know that good people are out there willing to help a stranger. And I think that’s why it touched me as well. She was willing to help a stranger she took the chance to step in.”
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