a secret delivery

a few weeks ago we got together with a friend of mine from college who lives in the area. this is her little guy- nicholas. isn't he dreamy? he and d's birthday are just a few days apart. e, d, n and his big sister sophia got along quite well. it is always nice when your kiddos get along well with your friends kiddos.



n's momma has been amazing as we have gone through this transition. about a year ago she sent me this super fab list of burbs for us to consider and helpful tips to guide us as we narrowed in on an area. but more importantly, i found her always checking in with me to see how i was doing. it was very sweet and always encouraging, especially at the times when the move looked like it wasn't going to happen.



sunday was my thirty... something birthday. my husband rocked it out, but there was a certain element of sad that came as i celebrated my birthday without my usual dinners with friends. so... you can imagine my surprise and sheer delight when i opened my front door to this:

my sweet friend left a basket of champagne, chocolate carmels and jelly belly beans on my front stoop. first, i am not really sure how she knew it was my birthday and second, i'm not sure how she knew how to nail my favorite things. regardless, she did... and it got me thinking...

there has been much hype about "pay it forward" and "random acts of kindness" and oprah's angel project from a few years back and those things are good. in fact, they are excellent. i think it is great when we step out of our own world and bless our greater community.

but what would it look like if we spent our time and energy blessing and caring for our immediate community? what if instead of "random" acts of kindness, we went through life showering people with INTENTIONAL acts of kindness (like my friend did)... what if we cared for the people in our lives in a way that was gentle, loving and incredibly helpful? i'd like to imagine living in that world.

my friends actions reminded me of how special it is to be remembered and how wonderful it feels to know that someone is thinking of you and going out of their way to do deliberate things to make you smile. i don't do enough of that in my life, and this special blessing reminded me that i should do more.