All parents know just how hard it is to juggle childcare with a social life, and the latter is normally far lower down the list of priorities.
So kind gestures, that make life a little bit easier, do not go unnoticed.
That is exactly what mum Katie Donaldson got when she took her two-year-old daughter, Pixie, out for dinner with friends.
Donaldson wrote on Facebook that she was out at a pizza restaurant, Dough, in Manchester, when she was blown away by a waiter’s unexpected generosity and kindness.
Donaldson explained that she was having a reunion with friends whom she had not seen in years, but had to take her toddler along for the evening.
She said: “This dude walks to our table with Pixie’s pizza, crayons, and spicy juice, her face lights up as he puts the pizza in front of her, until she realises it needs to be cut up.”
As the mother-of-one started to cut up her food, Pixie protested that she wanted “the beautiful man” to perform the chore instead.
Rather than walk away and leave her to it, the member of staff proceeded to do as requested: “I apologise [to him] and say he absolutely doesn’t need to, he cuts up Pixies pizza into tiny pieces.
“He even cuts up the bigger bits when Pixie points out that they are not ‘pixie-sized’ enough, and checks with her that they are all ok before he goes.”
After that he then came back to check on the little girl every ten minutes, even after he finished his shift.
Then he asked if Pixie would like to sit on a separate table with him so that Donaldson could eat her meal: “If she didn’t already think he was wonderful enough, he then produces a bowl of ice cream and sits with her talking about her day while she gets ice cream everywhere. He laughs at her silly faces and doesn’t once complain at the mess.”
“It might not seem like a lot, but that ten minutes with my friends was heavenly.”
“So thank you to the waiter at dough, for taking my two-year-old on her first date. Thank you for letting a busy mum have her dinner in peace. Thank you for going above and beyond your job for a little girl who you’ve never met before.”
After sharing the post on Facebook, strangers were able to track down the waiter, Mark Quinn.
His flatmate said: “My flatmate is an absolute legend! Well done Mark J. Quinn you lovely human being!”