Mom buys coffee for two women who mocked her

Beth LeBlanc | The Times Herald, Port Huron, Mich.

A Michigan woman took the phrase "kill them with kindness" to heart, when she purchased coffee for two women who mocked her.

Dianne Hoffmeyer, was ordering doughnut holes for her 2-year-old and a cup of coffee for herself at Tim Horton's in Fort Gratiot, Mich., when she heard two women behind her commenting on her appearance.

She said the women called her a "whale" and commented on her hair.

What the women didn't know, Hoffmeyer said, was that the doughnut holes she purchased were for her 2-year-old daughter, Liliana, who'd been up all night teething.

And the coffee was meant to be a pick-me-up after a long night with Liliana and an early morning doctor's appointment for the toddler.

They also didn't know that Hoffmeyer, 41, recently had lost 177 pounds over 22 months after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure during her pregnancy with Lily.

"I was really mad and I'm usually not quiet," Hoffmeyer said. "I've got a big mouth."

Instead of retaliating, Hoffmeyer held her tongue and paid for the women's coffee. She said her kids influenced her decision.

"My 2-year-old daughter is a mini-me and she mimics everything I do," Hoffmeyer said. "I wanted to do the right thing so when she's old enough she'll know the right thing to do."

When Hoffmeyer left the coffee shop she wrote about her experience in a post addressed to "the 2 mean bitter ladies standing in line at Tim Hortons." She posted her story to her personal Facebook page and to the "Port Huron Michigan" Facebook page.

Since posting about the incident on Facebook, more than 166,000 people have liked the post, and Hoffmeyer has received at least 94,000 friend requests and hundreds of messages, some as far as New Zealand.

"Just when you think there's no one nice in the world, they're all on my Facebook page," Hoffmeyer said.