I started looking around for a hidden camera.  Is this what really happens when the deli runs out of those little slips of numbered paper?  Tensions were high.  Shoppers were staring one another down as if they were in an old western duel.  Could we possibly be on that reality show where they try and place people in uncomfortable situations, and watch how a person’s inner character is revealed?  I was in the midst of the shoppers, taking special note of the situation.  Interesting.  Very interesting.  Having dropped my kids off at a summer art class, a coffee in my hand, and a feeling of peace and tranquility because I had my own few hours, I was able to smile as I waited for “my turn.”  However, how would I have handled it if my four children were gathered around the cart, (probably arguing over who gets to push it and who is riding in it), as we were trying to rush off to the next thing we had to accomplish that day?  I started thinking about how quick we are to judge others.  We make assumptions about the people we interact with, but not truly knowing what they may be working through.  Years ago, I remember checking out of the grocery store (why am I always there?) with my two girls.  The cashier asked me “How are you today?”  I told her I was “doing well…”  as I fought back tears.  Did I dare tell her that my husband passed away just one week earlier?  That I almost lost it in the breakfast aisle as I stared at my husband’s favorite cereal and realized that I no longer needed to purchase it?  Ever again.  The pain so many people face on a daily basis can be overwhelming.  But it is no excuse to treat others badly.

Our elementary school has a word we try to encourage and live up to.  Kindness.  I have never been so impressed with kindness as I had with my daughter on her tenth birthday.  I take no credit for it whatsoever.  This was all her.  She told me that she wanted to do ten random acts of kindness (one for each year she has been alive).  She showed me her post-it that listed her ideas.  My heart welled up as I read her list.  Then the five of us hopped in the van and were off.  She taped quarters to a vending machine and left a note that said, “please use these quarters to get yourself a treat.”  She gave one of her stuffed animals to a three-year-old at the mall.  She wrote notes of encouragement (“You are special,” “Have a great day,” “Someone cares for you”) and placed them on rows of parked cars.   She saw a sweaty landscaper and gave him a Gatoraid.  (The look on his face was priceless!)  She brought doughnuts to her father’s office for his staff.  She delivered thank you notes that she wrote to the local firefighters and her grandmother.  She made a welcome home banner for her great grandfather as he was being taken home from the hospital.  She picked some flowers for our neighbor, and left some pennies and a note by a wishing well for someone to use.  I learned a lot from my daughter that day.  Kindness does go a long way.  The smiles she helped to create, the feelings of significance that she instilled.  The simple ways of encouraging a stranger that may be trying to get through the day.  I desire to be that kind of person.  May I be that for you next time I meet you in the line at the deli.