Small Kindnesses...My Thoughts Run Rampant

Today, I am participating in the "Small Kindnesses" blogsplash sponsored by Fiona Robyn to celebrate her book by the same title. You can get a free copy of her book on Amazon.  The idea is that today, we spend a few minutes to think about the small kindnesses others have done for us. You can check out all the other bloggers participating here: http://bit.ly/TdDtNW

I have to say, this task of identifying and writing about those small kindnesses paid to me by others, was harder than I thought it was going to be. I've been racking my brain, I can think of several, life-changing examples of the kindness from others, but for the little things, I could only think of a few. Which make me a bit sad, not because I think I have somehow been deprived of the kindness of others, but because I haven't taken the time to let those small things imprint on my brain enough to remember them. I haven't taken the time to really appreciate them. I spend so much of my time looking for ways to be kind and give to others, that in the midst of all of that outgoing concern, I have somehow managed to wall myself up and not accept that same spirit of kindness and giving from others. I'm thinking it's time I change that.

So, I've probably skewed the intent of this post, by letting my thoughts run rampant on the page. In a effort to return to vein in which this event was created, how about one really good example of a small act of kindness?

A Birthday Surprise
I've spent my whole life moving from place to place as part of a military family, first as a military brat, then as an Army wife. And while there are a great many benefits to that kind of lifestyle, one of the things, at least for me, that has suffered are friendships. As a military brat you learn to make fast friends, but we move so often, those roots of friendship are often thick but shallow, and as we move, we spend most of our energy trying to make new friendships and the old ones sometimes fade away. As adults we get so busy with family, work, kids, you know...life, it's hard to start new friendships that go beyond just casual acquaintances. I had experienced a few close friendships in my adult life, one of which crashed and burned so fantastically that I swore I would never let anyone in like that again.  But, during our latest tour in Monterey, CA, I was lucky enough to connect with a handful of folks who extended the offer of friendship in a way I haven't had in a long time.


Last year on my birthday, I went to work just like every other day. Always the first one in, I reveled in the calm before the storm of the day. I got no more than two steps inside the door when I noticed the streamers. Then the sign. Then the balloons. A few more steps toward my desk and there was the confetti, and the tiara, and the cinnamon roll. I laughed out loud, and then I got a bit teary.

My brain started spinning, trying to figure out who had done all of this...there were only a handful of people a) would have done it and b) had access to the office. A handwritten sign and a couple of cards soon revealed the good-spirited culprits.  I'm sure it hadn't taken them long, and I know it didn't cost them very much, but it had such an impact on me. In that single moment, the overwhelming sense of their friendship wrapped around me like a blanket right out of the dryer. I'm not sure I even realized it at the time, but their kindness and thoughtfulness renewed my faith in and desire for friendship.

I enjoyed the rest of the day, ate my cinnamon roll and, yes, I proudly paraded around the office in my birthday tiara. How often do you get the chance to wear a tiara? I wasn't about to let that opportunity pass me by.  I left the streamers up for as long as the boss would let me, then reluctantly popped all the balloons and swept up the confetti. I still have the banner, and the signs. (I'd still have the tiara if someone hadn't stolen it off of my desk!) And I am happy to say, that even though we are no longer all together, these ladies are still among the few that I truly call friends.