Kindness Lingers

"Kind words not only lift our spirits in the moment they are given, but they can linger with us over the years.  One day, when I was in college, a man seven years my senior congratulated me on my performance in a football game.  He not only praised how well I had done in the game, but he had noticed that I had showed good sportsmanship.  Even though this conversation happened more than 60 years ago, and even though it’s highly unlikely the person who complimented me has any recollection of this conversation, I still remember the kind words spoken to me that day..."
― Joseph B. Wirthlin

I texted a friend this morning to wish her a Happy Birthday and she responded that she was visiting her daughter who is away at college.  I told her to say hi to her daughter for me and that I remembered her daughter's kindness with my daughter a while back.

Last year, my daughter went to a new school for 6th grade.  The school has a big field-day type event organized by the 12th graders where everyone in the school is grouped into teams captained by the seniors.  When my daughter came home and told me about her day, she shared that she had been on the team led by the daughter of this friend of mine.  What a coincidence!  I texted my friend to let her know.  My friend replied that her daughter had intentionally put my daughter on her team because her daughter remembered what it was like to be a new student at the school, and she wanted my daughter to have a nice experience at this event.  I was so touched by this young woman's kindness and I still remember it with great appreciation.  That's the thing about kindness -- it lingers.