Kindness and Smiles at School

"The most valuable possession you can own is an open heart.  The most powerful weapon you can be is an instrument of peace."
―Carlos Santana

It was Parent Appreciation Day at one of my children's schools today, which means that the parents visit their children's classrooms and then join their children for an all-school Mass.  One class was singing at the Mass, so the parents were watching them practice.  A woman I know has a son in that class, and was watching him and his classmates practice when she noticed that a little girl who had just been singing very enthusiastically looked very sad.  The little girl seemed as though she was going to cry.  When they stopped singing, the woman asked the little girl why she was so sad.  The little girl said that her father had left and that her mother was not there.  The woman told the little girl that she would take photos of her to send to her mother, and asked the little girl if she could give her a hug.  She said yes, so the woman gave her a hug.  During Mass, the woman ended up sitting across from where the little girl was standing, so she waved at her and took her picture.  The little girl smiled and waved back.  The woman was glad to be there for her son -- and for the little girl, too.  During the Sign of Peace, the woman blew the little girl a kiss.  The little girl smiled and blew one back.