In the delightful movie Harvey, Jimmy Stewart tells of how his mother advised him that in this life, you can be either smart or pleasant. "Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant." Now, I would never expect anything but scholastic achievement from my children, but there's no reason they can't be smart and pleasant. Especially when one member of the family is off her feet.
Herewith, are some non-random acts of kindness that the five children have bestowed upon me since I came home from surgery Thursday night:
1. My daughter, 21, is continually checking on me via text message. She is embroiled in finals at Oswego, so this is the best she can do.
2. My son, almost 19, who thankfully finished up at Onondaga Community College on Thursday, stuck around all day yesterday (until his stepfather came home) to make sure I was all right. When I told him he should go Christmas shopping at the mall, he said, "I'm not going to leave you." Later, bored out of my skull, I asked if he wanted to watch "The Price is Right" with me. "Sure," he said.
3. I was attempting to hobble down the stairs by myself (independent Annie and all), and the 17-year-old immediately jumped up and said, "Do you need help?" I didn't have to ask.
4. One especially kind move by the 13-year-old was to bring me some red licorice. Apparently, the bus driver hands out candy on Fridays, and she made sure to tell the driver her stepmom had had surgery, and then made sure to bring me one of my favorite candies!
5. The 6-year-old: she has painted me 11 pictures since I got home. In fact, last night we had to shoo her to bed, she was still painting!
Now if that isn't kindness, I don't know what is. Thanks, kids, for showing me that I am important to you.
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