And... Here Comes That Kindness Thing Again

After spending some really delightful time in Minneapolis recently and encountering so many nice people I was reminded of the importance of taking just an extra minute to be kind. Sometimes it shocks people ~ they don't quite know what to think. (That's when it is the most fun.) But more often than not, the kindness is returned. Maybe not in that exact moment but it will come back to you. I like to call that karma. 

Yesterday I visited my new dentist - a sweetheart of a girl. Isn't it strange how overnight my doctors, my PAs, my acupuncturists, my dentists, my hair dresser ~ are all delightful young women. Wow. I'm officially old because they could quite literally be my daughters...  

In their chosen professions each one of them is intelligent and confident and professional. I am in awe of their accomplishments at such young ages. How happy it makes me that young women are entering these occupations and excelling! I came of age in the era of Gloria Steinem and Betty Friedan and admire them still. So to see these young women doing what they do with such zeal and vigor makes me very happy.

And every single one of them is kinder and more compassionate than the next. It's reassuring to see that still exists in what sometimes seems like a terribly selfish and self-centered world.

So yesterday I was happy that maybe I was able to add a bit to the kindness factor in a small way.

I was in Bed, Bath and Beyond just bidding my time, perusing all the fun stuff, you know ~ as you do.  

I have a pillow obsession.

So la, la, la ~ and suddenly over the store's speaker system I hear, "Will the owner of a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee please come to Customer Service."

Heart sinks. The Mister and I have odd attachments to our vehicles and the Jeep has been mine for the last 7 years...

The manager explained to me that a little elderly woman had scratched the side of my Jeep with her side mirror on her gigantic black car. She was waiting by the Jeep.

I walked out and saw that she could have been my Mom about 5 years ago. Bless her heart. She was standing there with her USAA insurance portfolio in her arms. 

I said, "Hi. What happened?"

"I was backing out and when I did I noticed I scratched your beautiful car." She ran her finger across the "scratch." And I noticed when she did that the "scratch" seemed to disappear.  I ran my finger over the "scratch" and it totally disappeared. I still don't know what it was - dust? Whatever, it was gone.

I looked at her and said, "No problem - it's not scratched."  

She audibly sighed, put her hand on my shoulder and said, "Oh are you sure?"  

"Yes - see? No scratch! Thank you for being so honest, though!"

She smiled. I hugged her and said again, "Thank you for being honest. You have a good day now!"

I joke with my friends that I'm Pollyanna. Don't get me wrong ~ I'm not all kumba-ya all the time. But I find I do feel better when I throw some of that into the mix more often than not.

That karma thing? Trust me; it's real.