Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
- Leo Buscaglia


Saturday, March 3, 2012

Kindness Starts at Home

     When I set up my "rules" for this project, I noted that I wanted the vast majority of my intentional acts of kindness to be for people outside my immediate circle of friends and family, but that I also didn't want to overlook the opportunity to be kind to those closest to me.  Today I decided to do something closer to home.  Here's what happened:
     My wife left a couple of days ago to pick up our daughter from college since next week is her spring break.  They were due to return by mid-afternoon today.  Knowing how nice it is to return to a clean and orderly house and not to have to immediately be thrust into thinking about shopping, dinner, and other logistics, I figured I could take some steps to make that transition easier.  First, I made sure the house was straightened up and everything was put away, especially in the kitchen.  Then, I did the grocery shopping for most of the basic staples that we had run low on.  Most importantly, I then took care of every aspect of putting a great meal on the table - from shopping to setting the table to preparing the entire meal.  Afterwards, my daughter and I took care of the dishes as well.  
     I know it wasn't all that big of a deal, but that's mostly how kindness works.  It's simply the act of thinking about others and acting upon ways that we can make their day just a little bit better.

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