The Kindness of a Visiting Teenager

"The purpose of life is not to be happy.  It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

On a recent weekend, we had a couple of my children's friends over.  At one point, I called one of my daughters -- who, not surprisingly, did not seem to hear me.  One of their friends then spoke loudly to my daughter and told her that I had just called for her.  I thanked this thoughtful teen for her help.  When I told this teen's mother how helpful she had been, her mother replied, "I'm glad she heard you -- she never hears me when I call her."