On the way to Leavenworth last week, we stopped at a rest stop between Moses Lake and George, and there next to the sink in the Women’s Restroom was this small message that had been left by an unknown stranger. My mother didn’t see it; the two other women in the bathroom didn’t spot it–who knows how long it has been there, and how many other people have passed by without noticing it. Maybe it was left there just to be a curiosity or something silly, but I like to think that instead it was someone fighting all the nasty things that usually get scrawled on bathroom stalls by leaving a message of kindness on a Post-It note for anyone with eyes to see. I will never meet that person, never know who it is, but I am deeply grateful to them just the same.

Also, a more personal act of kindness: someone I barely know signed me up for Carmen Torbus’s Spill It! workshop, something which although I am fairly certain I never told anyone this, I could not afford to do myself despite wanting to so very, very much. So thank you, Janet, from the bottom of my heart. I am only three days into the workshop, and I am loving it. It feels indescribably good to resurface from the basement covered in paint, to try new things, to watch as mistake after mistake transforms into something truly magical if I just remain calm, keep going, and trust myself. Even better to see a life lesson in that, one that I really need. And all of this makes me think of a quote by Emerson that I encountered on Chrysti’s blog this morning: “Happiness is a perfume which you cannot pour on someone without getting some on yourself.” I believe that is also true of kindness.

Also, thank you to everyone who has dropped by and left me a comment recently to let me know that you are there and thinking of me. It means a great deal to me, and I appreciate it so much. Huge hugs to all of you today.