Kindness

Kindness is:

1. making sure my kiddo had the gas money she needed to get to and from and around Seattle last fall.
2. making sure I had help with cat care when I had to be in Seattle.
3. words of encouragement.
4. hard truths told with love to prepare for what was ahead.
5. Sunshine smoothies, Papa Murphy pizzas, and Graze gift certificates to afford me a little respite and more time.
6. buying jewelry and art when it helped make things a little easier for our family.
7. grocery deliveries and front porch care packages.
8. meals.
9. cards and letters.
10. scrubbing the stove top and dusting when I couldn’t.
11. helping decorate for Christmas even if it was just a little and it was really, really hard.
12. missing a milestone birthday so your husband could cook meals for three weeks for one of his best friends at a really vulnerable time.
13. driving in an electric vehicle during really windy, cold weather to make it in time for Christmas and spending the whole day on a gauntlet/quest, then making delicious food and watching movies, bringing light and joy.
14. showing up and showing and showing up.
15. hugs.
16. words and music of encouragement.
17. making the best cottage pie so that a little family could have their trip to Ireland after all.
18. providing a space to remember.
19. making a space to forget.
20. making the time, making the trip.
21. being a safe space to laugh and cry and yell.
22. cleaning my car and making sure my oil was changed.
23. watching stand-up comedy with me to make sure I laugh.
24. sitting with me in silence or listening to me talk at length.
25. being a safe harbor.
26. holding me to account.
27. encouraging me.
28. washing my dishes, sweeping my porch, mowing my lawn.
29. walking with me in my joy and sorrow.
30. extending grace, especially when I’m at my lowest.

For all of these and more than I can write or speak out loud, I am so grateul for kindness, for without it, I would not be able to function, let alone be here. Thank you.