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Kindness of a little girl

Tonight at work a little girl at dinner started chatting to me excitingly. She showed me her new shoes, dress, and her most favourite ... two big shiny sparkling dress rings.

I told her much I loved them and how beautiful she looked. Later during my shift she called me over to her table and begun pulling off one of her rings. Once she had it off she then placed it into my hand and said, "Here, this is for you. It's my favorite but I want you to have it. I know you will take very good care of it for me and will love it as much as me".

I just about cried. Is that not one of the sweetest things! Mostly so because it was her favorite, and only an hour earlier she was telling me how much she loved it and had only just received it.

Children. They really do live from their hearts and it's something to be admired and cherished. And the world is a better place because of them. Blessed we all are for the daily reminders of love that our children give us ♡

Meet Them Where They Live

It was a bad time for me. I was low emotionally and tired physically. Probably because of this I hadn't shaved for a few days. Also, because I had been doing some repairs at my daughter's house, I was dressed quite scruffily. Boarding the bus to go home I saw it was almost full so I found a rail to lean against. That's when a young woman, sitting with her child, stood up and offered me her seat. 'Wow!' I thought. Out loud I said, "Do I look that old and tired?" She replied, "You look like you've had a tough day." I thanked her sincerely and stayed standing. A moment later a man rose from his seat at the back of the bus and made his way towards me, squeezing past several people on the way. Then he told me about his addiction problems, asked my advice, and just chatted about ... Read Full Story >>

Scouts Honor on a Full Flight

My 9-year-old daughter and I were flying from our home in Charlotte, North Carolina, to spend a week with my husband in Miami, Florida. Mike had been in Florida for five months working for an internet start-up company. We were excited about the trip because we had seen him only five times in five months, and Kallie missed her Dad terribly. As usual on the Charlotte-to-Miami flight, the plane was totally full. I had noticed a troop of Boy Scouts at the gate and commented to my daughter that if anything happened, we would be OK with all those Scouts on our flight! Little did I know.... Because we did not get our boarding passes until we arrived at the gate, Kallie and I could not get seats together and were separated by the aisle. That wasn't such a big deal, except that Kallie was nervous about the trip and had counted ... Read Full Story >>

Jaw dropper!

Tonight two friends and I were out to dinner at a sushi restaurant one town over from ours. We were enjoying each others company, laughing, and catching up from the week we hadn't seen each other.

We had finished our dinner and were waiting for the waitress to bring over our bill so we could pay. It seemed to be taking longer than normal, but we didn't mind.

All of the sudden, our waitress came over to us and handed us this smile card. She then told us a random man paid for our entire bill as a random act of kindness. We were speechless and our jaws dropped. This random act of kindness made our entire week and inspired us to go do random acts of kindness we should be doing on a weekly basis.

There are good people in the world, we just have to open our eyes to them. If you receive this card, pass on the act of kindness. You never know how big you can impact someone else's life by doing a small act, be the good in the world.

Kindness Adventures On Our Block

I spend a lot of time at home, so there are many opportunities to interact with our great neighbors.

Today, I got a phone call from an older neighbor who lost her balance while bending over her little dog's water bowl and had fallen down.  I immediately ran over to her house with a cold gel-pack in hand! Then, I stayed a while, took some cute pictures of her pup with my cell phone, saw that she was okay, and returned home.  

She just called again to tell me not to worry, she is okay.

Upon returning home from her house, just as I was closing my door, I saw another neighbor (who is also a senior) climbing up a small ladder to hang something in her tree.  The ladder looked precariously perched, so I ran over to check on her. She thanked me, but refused my help. I told her I would stay next to her, just in case. :)

Both these women live alone and are very independent. They are a huge inspiration!

Helping A Mom Get To Her Destination.

This PM while I was waiting for the Pre-K parents to come visit the Kindergarten classes a young mother came into the school office. She took the bus but got off at the wrong stop and the school building - she needed to go to  Head Start, about two miles away. She was carrying a baby and she had a 3 year old with her too. She was asking for directions on how to get to the other place on foot, Today was a cold blustery day and I could not see her walking that far with her children. The afternoon parents were not showing up and it was already well past the time they needed to be there, so I told this mom I would give her a ride. My colleague who was helping me during the afternoon session, volunteered to take this mom herself in case parents would still show ... Read Full Story >>

Grocery Store Commotion Turns Into Kindness

"Some people!" snorted a man standing behind me in the long line at the grocery store. "You would think the manager would pay attention and open another line," said a woman. I looked to the front of the line to see what the hold up was and saw a well dressed, young woman, trying to get the machine to accept her credit card. No matter how many times she swiped it, the machine kept rejecting it. "It's one of them welfare card things. Damn people need to get a job like everyone else," said the man standing behind me. The young woman turned around to see who had made the comment. 'It was me,' he said, pointing to himself. The young lady's face began to change expression. Almost in tears, she dropped the welfare card onto the counter and quickly walked out of the store. Everyone in the checkout line ... Read Full Story >>

Trees DO grow in Brooklyn!

Almost forty years ago, back on 12th Street between 8th Ave and Prospect Park West in Brooklyn, a group of people decided to hold a block party.  The money raised was for planting trees on each side of the street. 

And so we planted some trees.  The trees were so small, they were almost comical!  Still, they meant a lot to a small group of teenagers who lived on the block.  Teenagers like me.

Fast forward some years, and the last time I went back to Brooklyn, I actually saw those little saplings turn into beautiful, full grown, majestic trees! 

I looked up to the sky and thanked God for such a creation, for giving life to such a small seed planted in the hearts of a few people so many years ago!

A Small Act of Kindness Makes it all Worthwhile

Today I went to my daughter's school and spoke about kindness to 60 kids plus teachers and teacher assistants. After a small talk about the meaning of kindness, I gave a challenge to the children - I told them to  write a small story about an act of kindness that they had done and how that made them feel. Or if they had received of an act of kindness how did that make them feel? In what way had that act changed them? Then I and the Deputy Head and the Head Teacher will choose the best ones, the one that will stand out for their feelings of compassion and love toward others. When I was waiting for my daughter I saw some teachers that were at the assembly passing by and I was hoping that they would tell me if they liked the talk or not, but they didn't say anything. Then this little boy came to me and said: "You know, I enjoyed the ... Read Full Story >>

The Karma Effect

Some of you know about my marvelous Mom who had a stroke seven years ago. She is unable to walk, talk or move her left hand. But she is an absolute inspiration. Every Tuesday night we go out together. I take her to a mall and out for dinner (she loves a glass of pinot grigio). Anyway tonight was a bit miserable due to a big snowstorm. So we just stayed in town. Off we went to Wal Mart and as we were in line I noticed a fairly disheveled man a bit ahead of us in line. He was looking at us as people often do when someone is in a wheelchair. I gave him a big smile and started to chat with my Mom. A minute later he came up to us and gave my Mom these two lady bugs. He paints them and gives them to people. He said when you "See a ... Read Full Story >>

Secret Santa with a Difference

This will be the second year at our company when we do a Secret Santa exchange that makes a difference.

As with the usual gift exchange we all pull a name out of a hat and purchase a gift for that individual. The difference is that we envision our recipient as a child & choose a gift the child would enjoy. After we have all opened our gifts & gotten a good laugh, we collect up the toys and take them to one of the many Christmas toy drives in our city.

This is such a great way to have some fun together & make a difference in the lives of needy children during Christmas.

Hand in Hand on a Stormy Night

The train was not working that night as I was heading home.  I had to catch a bus and 2 hours later was dropped off in the middle of the town I was staying in.  The ice storm froze the ground and it was very difficult to walk.  I asked three people for directions, but they were too hurried to help.

Then I saw an old lady holding onto the corner post with her packages, afraid to move.  I asked her where she was going and it was at least 3  miles away.  I tried to find a cab or police car but I was told they do not stop in this neighborhood.

So, we proceeded to walk along, holding onto each other for dear life.  The roads were layered with a sheet of ice.  Then and there I decided that I could not leave this old lady alone like this.  So, I decided to walk her home, hand in hand, for a good 2 hours.  Later that evening, I finally reached my destination  wet and exhausted but filled with joy and love for life.

The Imperfect Act of Kindness

I am in the midst of prolonged frustrations at work. Today was more of the same. I walked to the car remembering my act of kindness and feeling a little pressed for time and creativity. As I drove to the grocery store to pick up milk, I ran some scenarios through my head not landing on one I was satisfied with. I walked in, there was a table of vibrant yellow mums. I chose one and put it in my cart still not knowing what I was going to do with it. I find myself trying to figure out the perfect scenario for these acts of kindness knowing that it defeats the purpose, but I can't help myself. I left the store and while I was backing out of my parking space, I saw an older woman walking to her minivan. She was by herself and did not have much in her cart. I ... Read Full Story >>

Chocolate bars, flowers, and a morning I'll always remember

This morning, I arrived at my office a bit earlier to catch up on some emails. It was relatively empty, with people trickling in here and there. On the way to work today, I had also stopped by the grocery store to pick up some fruits to share with my colleagues during our morning meeting. I couldn't help it when I passed a fresh stack of yellow flowers on my way to the cash register... I had to pick some up, along with a few chocolate bars, to gift in some way. With the office so empty, I decided to take the opportunity to pick a few random desks to plop the chocolate bars on. :) My heart raced a bit as I scurried through the office, headed towards cubicles and areas where no one had come in yet. :) I placed one on the CEO's desk, and snuggled a smile card ... Read Full Story >>

Learning to live and trust

Since I was a kid I liked to be left alone with my own thoughts, I was always wondering around, I was a day dreamer: not an action girl - I rather be painting or just playing with my dolls or legos. Then school came and I was "forced" to know others kids, to learn how to get along, and sometimes It was a very hard issue to me. I took very seriously every harsh and bullying event towards myself and that made me to grow up with less and less hope in humanity. I became a very shy girl with huge dreams, and very large fear of others.I always thought I was meant to be alone: and I was prepared to be later in life got engaged and moved in with my beloved. I've completed my studies, after 15 years we had a baby. But even now, in my gut I don't ... Read Full Story >>

A Bed Of Clouds

I saw a tired and dirty man struggling to walk in the heat of the day. I pulled over and offered him a ride. 

He said he was trying to get to the bank to pay in a dollar someone had given him. It seemed he had a lot of medical expenses he was trying to pay. So I gave him a ride to the bank and waited outside for him.

He was surprised I was still there. I asked if he wanted to come to my house for a shower and a meal. He was delighted to accept.

He showered, put on some of my husband's clothes, and ate some of my leftovers. (He didn't finish them because he wasn't used to eating so much.) Then I offered him the chance to take a nap in my spare room while I washed and dried his clothes. 

He crawled into the bed and let out a load moan. I asked what was wrong and he said he had never felt anything so soft. He said it felt like he was laying on a cloud.

He slept for about two hours. Then he got dressed again in his freshly laundered clothes.

He told me more of his story and I offered more help. He refused, thanked me, and went on his way.

The Invisible Woman

When I had breast cancer I had to have a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation (the works). The hardest part of that entire experience was losing my hair. I have strawberry blonde wavy hair down to the middle of my back which I have always considered one of my most attractive features. What was hard about losing my hair, though, was that I lost my anonymity with it. After I lost my hair it was like having a tattoo across my forehead that said "chemo patient." I am a very active, athletic person so to have people looking at me with pity as if I was an invalid or a leper was very hard to take. Of course they never said anything, but if I got in an elevator everyone looked away because they didn't know what to say. I didn't blame them, God knows I've done the same thing myself, but ... Read Full Story >>

Secret Snow Wiper Will Strike Again!

After 2 false alerts the winter storm advisory today, tonight and tomorrow  is real  -- snow has been falling and accummulating.  And I'm armed!  I made sure to put an extra pairs of  gloves, 2 ice scraper (small and large), and a small hand held brush for sweeping the snow in the front seat of my car. What I'm also going to do is scout our work parking lot for a secret snow wiping and windshield cleaning, after I leave work. I started this tradition a few years ago when my hubby and I discontinued car pooling. (I did not realize that he spoiled me- I'd sit in the nice, warm truck watching/waiting while he did the cleaning then drove us safely home.) Now I do my own (ugh!).  I know how much work it involves, and  how cold you can get.  So I'm excited to be able to surprise someone with a ... Read Full Story >>

The Girl Student Sitting at the Back of the Classroom

I still will never forget a girl student sitting at the back of the classroom. Having failed the college entrance exams and changed schools two times, she couldn’t smile naturally. Every day she would sit at the desk, staring into textbooks and exercises, motionless and heavy-hearted. The desperate loneliness she radiated almost stopped me from teaching. Of course, she had no friends in this fiercely competitive class. Every time I stepped into the classroom, I welcomed everyone. Of course, when I said something to her casually, she reluctantly answered with a stiff, shaky, and sheepish smile. Life is harder for senior students. Hardly does a day go by without endless exercises or tests. Every time when the scores came out, her score wouldn't be the first or second but last. Dark clouds always flashed in her eyes. When I invited her to the teacher's office, we never talked about studies or ... Read Full Story >>

Shine Brighter

Dealing with the gal at the front desk at the doctor's office is sometimes less than pleasant. She can be quite off-putting and not at all welcoming. It can make a stressful time even more stressful. 

So, today, when we walked in the office, we were determined not to allow our light to be dimmed by her energy. We smiled at her and complimented her about the flowers on her desk. She smiled and chatted back.

We just need to shine brighter instead of being "reactive". Perhaps she's doing the best she can. We needed to be less reactive to her and more compassionate. We give away our power when we allow ourselves to be reactive.