I opened the front door in answer to the ringing bell. Looking down I saw two small children who I thought must be from the house on the corner. The older child, a girl, must have been about six years old. Her younger brother was likely two years her junior. "We made pictures and we're selling them for 25 cents!" the girl announced. She was so confident her pictures would be in demand she didn't even ask me if I'd like to buy one, rather, she assumed I would. "Let me get a quarter," I said. Maybe her mom told her I couldn't resist her charm or maybe kids just have an instinct for for which grown-ups will easily yield to their will, but as she must have anticipated, I was an easy sell. Fifty cents later I had not two but three pictures for my refrigerator. I got a special deal on the third painting. The incident fits into the category, The Little Things, and like so many other little things along the way, it made my day.

With living comes joy, suffering, pleasure, and pain. I am learning, perhaps a little late, that when a person goes through an experience that matters to them, they don't want to go through it alone. They want someone to take notice, to care. I have concluded that in these times It is better to do or to say something rather than nothing. If in doubt, send a card. When I look back on my own troubles and joys I may not remember who didn't call or who didn't come, but I do remember the small acts of kindness. I remember the call, the card, or the plant; especially the ones that came unexpectedly from a remote aquaintance or a distant cousin.  I remember the wedding gifts received or the cake brought to the door when we had a death in the family. I remember the pleasure of receiving a birthday card in the mail or the message on the answering machine from a friend saying she had prayed for me that morning. Let's save that message to play back every morning, shall we? Perhaps it is from these experiences, these people who have touched my life, that I have learned the importance of the small things. In my own joy and suffering, pleasure and pain, I received kindness. In thankfulness, I want to go and do likewise because it really does matter.