Someone said that I live a charmed life...

I guess by some standards I do. But, little do they know what troubles are in my life. It made me think about the things we don't know about each other. So many times things happen to people over which they have not control and they don't show on the surface.

We never know if the person we are sitting right next to:

• is suffering a deep heartache for something over which they have no control
• is recovering from a serious illness or injury
• is in serious debt trouble
• doesn't know how to read
• is homeless
• was an abused child
• is being abused by a spouse
• has a child in jail
• just lost a loved one
• has no food in the house
• is about to lose their home
• can't afford a birthday cake for their child's birthday
• is new in town and doesn't know anyone
• is in a great deal of physical or emotional pain
• is suffering from depression
• has a serious chemical imbalance
• has no family
• can't count change

Bet you didn't know I have gone through the awful treatment for hepatitis C, did you? I bet I don't know things about you that would make me be kinder to you, have more compassion for you.

I challenge you to assume the best of everyone. Give each other a chance, do something nice for someone you are inclined to avoid. Smile and speak to each person you meet on the street. It's a good habit and will bring smiles back to you. Then send an act of kindness to someone you do not know well and kindness will come back to you.

I did my act of kindness this morning at work, when/where did you do yours?

Random Acts of Kindness

The challenge is to record random acts of kindness. At first, I thought, every random act of kindness I have done, is so small and simple, it doesn't count. But as I have read yours I see that a random act of kindess is very often just that, a small and simple act of kindness. It doesn't have to be something big and fantastic. More like something no one sees, but those who are affected.

We were in WalMart. We had picked up enough stuff to bring our bill up to the usual $100. Along the way, I had picked up a pack of Spiderman bandaids in case my grandsons came by to visit. While we were standing in line, a young boy, his brother and father, got in line behind us. The father had a big birthday cake. I turned to them and asked, "Whose birthday is it?" The young boy said it was his and he would be turning six. I asked what kind of cake they bought and he proudly announced it was a Spiderman cake. The cashier had just rung up my Spiderman band aids. I picked them up and handed them to the young boy and said "Happy Birthday." I made sure the cashier saw so she would not charge him.

Grin does not describe the look on his face. It was an awesome feeling, my husband and I both felt quiet joy for this silly little thing we did.

Now, even better than that. Let me tell you what kindness was done to me, rather than by me. I was very sick and the Bishop's wife, came to visit me. While we visited, someone else stopped by (an unusual event to have 2 people just drop by). The Bishop's wife got up and left the room, the next thing I knew she was vacuuming my floors while I visited with the other ladies. She had asked my 3 year old where the vacuum was, and he, knowing everything, showed her. What a lovely thing to do.

Friends (SPT)

Having been raised in the Air Force, I have grown up with the mentality that you make friends while you are there and when you leave, you leave everything behind, including your friends. Consequently, I have 4 women who come to mind when I think of good friends (outside of my family). Becky, Connie, Gwen and RoseAnn. None of them are on the computer like I am, so our friendship must be sustained by letter and phone. I am terrible at that. However, every time I get together with one of them, it is like time never passed.

Okay, I have it all figured out--blogging friends only know the side of you that you want them to know. That makes these friendships kind of like being a grandparent. Why do grandchildren love their grandparents so much? Because we have no issues, we don't need to correct them, we don't need to monitor them, we just need to listen to them and love them and spoil them and send them home to reality. They only see the side of us that we want them to see.

But seriously, have you read Bryn's post today? http://thebestofdays.blogspot.com/2007/05/when-boys-are-away.html. This is who my truest friends are. I love my daughters and my daughter's-in-law. If I could spend a day doing just what I wanted to do, I would want to do it with them. They truly are best friends.