It's the Small Things

Normally when you hear about acts of kindness, it is usually some large event that got the attention of the media. Whose heart didn't melt when they heard about the kid who got to be Batman for a day? That was absolutely fantastic. However, this post is not about events on that grand of a scale. I am going to write about smaller acts of kindness. Ones that are generally overlooked and not talked about, but still matter in the large scheme of things. They matter to me, because it makes me want to be a better person. To replicate something like that in my own everyday life.

Not surprisingly, these stories involve my parents. They are kind and generous people with big hearts. There are some neighborhood kids who don't have it as easy financially as some of us. They never complained about their financial situation though. Whenever they were low on cash, they would hop on their bikes (or drive once they were old enough to have a license) and see who in the neighborhood needed work done. My Dad admired their work ethic and gave them some odd jobs around house. I remember once, after they had been outside in the cold raking leaves, Dad invited them in for hot chocolate and pie. (Yeah, that's the kind of family I come from.)

This past Christmas, they came again, asking if there was anything that needed doing. While talking and hanging Christmas lights, Dad found out that the one of them was looking to buy a car. Dad told him that he had one to sell, so the kid called his father to talk specifics. The deal on paper was that the kid was going to work for Dad and the money can be used to pay off the car, since finances were a bit tight. But that isn't what is actually going to happen (unbeknownst to them, of course). My dad is going to see if the kid sticks to his word of coming and working off the car payment. If the kid does, then Dad is just going to give the kid the car, no money needed. That is kind of man my father is. He thinks nothing of it. He wants to reward people who work hard.

My mother is the same. There is an elderly woman who lives near them. Recently, she came home from the hospital and hasn't been able to get about like she used to. My parents went to visit her, to see how she was doing and keep her company for a bit. While they were conversing, the lady mentioned how she was craving chicken and string beans with potatoes. It was just a comment, nothing more. At least that is what the lady thought. But, my mother, being the woman she is, went home and made chicken and string beans with potatoes. Dad even made potato salad. They packed it up and brought to the lady. My mother wasn't asked to do it. She just did it. When I talked to her, Mom simply said "That is what people do."

In a time when it is so easy to be absorb by your own problems not pay attention those around you, stories like this amaze me. Doing something for someone else, just because and not thinking anything of it. Stories like these inspire me to be better. To look beyond myself and whatever is going on in my life and see how I can do something for someone else.