Eight Band-Aids and Three Popsicles of Kindness

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Bandaids, Bike Crash, Bike Riding, books, Kindness, Popsicles, reading

I don’t recommend bike crashes, but if you’re going to challenge the blacktop with your body, it is best to do it on a friendly cul-de-sac.

Over the weekend, our family headed out for a short bike ride. Our final destination was the pool, but we didn’t make it. Only two blocks from home, our middle son took a flying superman-style dive over his handlebars. You can imagine the carnage: skin, blood, tears, panic.

He limped to a shady lawn and collapsed on the grass while we checked him for major damage. As we evaluated limbs, cringed at the missing skin and assessed his helmet cracks, a neighbor offered help. He returned moments later with a bag of ice, damp washcloths and three popsicles – one for each of our children.

I can’t describe how much the popsicles helped. Of course we needed the first aid supplies, but the popsicles were the act of kindness that made a horrific moment slightly enjoyable. The other two children were distracted opening their packages, and our injured son’s attitude improved just at the sight of the neon blue flavor.

Kindness is not hard, but it isn’t always at the top of our minds as we hurry throughout our day. I encourage you to look for opportunities to spread kindness to others. Remember, it IS the little things that count.

If you need inspiration, try Secret Kindness Agents by Ferial Pearson:

Sometimes the small things make all the difference.

Moved by the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, Ferial Pearson wondered if a simple act of kindness could change a life. She thought of the school where she taught and the students she guided every day and wondered, what would happen if we started secretly carrying out small acts of kindness in school? Could a modest act of compassion really change the course of a life? She posed the question to her students. They didn’t have the answers but they were willing to find out.

And so they became the Secret Kindness Agents. They not only changed the lives of those they met, they changed their own.

Their hope, their hearts, and their hunger for happiness will inspire you to change your small corner of the world, in your own way, for the better. Let them show you how they did it, and how you can do the same.

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