Random acts of kindness

Last weekend, I had numerous great experiences of people just being kind and considerate.

When we were at the amusement park, Natalie needed to use the bathroom. Of course, we needed to wash our hands afterwards, and of course I didn't have a stepstool for her (someone should really invent one that would be small enough to fit in a diaperbag, but that's another story), so I was lifting her with one arm, trying to wash both her hands and mine at the sink. The lady in front of us noticed, and before she left, she made sure that there was enough paper towel hanging out of the dispenser for us so we didn't have to fight with the dispenser. A small thing, maybe, probably something I would not have thought of doing myself for others before I had Natalie, but still something so very important and kind - from a perfect stranger.

The next day, we were at the grocery store, picking up something from the bakery isle. There was a lady filling up the displays, and when she saw Natalie, she went in to the bakery to get her a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie. Yes, it's a good PR trick, but it was still very sweet (not just the sugar in the cookie, but the gesture also).

Then, outside of the grocery store, we were putting our cart away in the cart corral when Natalie noticed that there were two "little dogs with big ears" in the car parked next to the carts. She looked at them with great interest thru the carwindow. Then the owner came out to the car, and she asked if Natalie wanted to pet one of the dogs. She held the dog up so Natalie could reach. Again, a perfect stranger, doing something nice for us and for Natalie.

I am so grateful to those people. Not only did they help give Natalie some great experiences, but they also helped teach her - by example - how to be kind to and considerate of others. I will try to remember that in the future, so I too can show her by example how a simple gesture can mean so much to someone else.