Stories by Tikit (3 matches)

Immeasurable Generosity from a Friend

My husband died in 1998 and the following year found me incredibly depressed, desperately lonely and totally overwhelmed.  I was living over 2,000 miles from my family, and his family had disappeared as if I had the plague.  My sister and my friends had been trying to get me to sell and move for several months and a close friend invited to move to the town where she lived.  Though I knew I should sell (I couldn't keep the place up), it was impossible for me to consider, as there was no way I could handle the mortgage until it sold, and also pay for an apartment.   My friend invited me into her home, to live there with her, free of charge.  She has a large, beautiful home, and though I seriously considered it, I didn't want to "put her out" or become a burden, and told her it could take months or even years to sell ... Read Full Story >>

5360 Reads

Two Women Who Taught Me Kindness

This is a story about a wonderful little snippet of life I was fortunate enough to be able to participate in. I write about it here, not to toot my own horn, but to give others an idea of how easy it is to perform a simple random act of kindness, and what a positive effect it can have. I was standing in line at our local Wal-Mart with one item in my hand at the express lance check out. The lady in front of me was a fragile looking senior citizen. Since I had been widowed fairly recently, and was still walking around in that pervasive fog that is a combination of ennui and sadness, I was so self-absorbed in my own little world of gloom that it wasn't really registering in my brain that the little old lady was having trouble getting her items out of her shopping cart ... Read Full Story >>

4917 Reads

Smiling In The Rain

Where I live, afternoon showers a a common occurrence.  They might not last long, but when the skies open up, it pours! 

After seeing so many folks are caught by the unexpected rain -- people waiting by bus stops, waiting under awnings of stores, and so on. 

So I decided to stock my car up with "Smile Umbrellas."  Oh, they're quite ordinary; in fact, I bought the cheapest ones I could find at the dollar stores.  The idea is not that they will last any great length of time, but that they will give someone an unexpected kindness.

I went on rain "patrol" today ... and was able to give out 3 of my umbrellas, handing out a Smile Card with each one.  The look on two of those people's faces was incredible -- they just couldn't believe it. 

I came home wetter than drowned rat, but happy as a clam. :)

4126 Reads



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