Every act of kindness grows the spirit and strengthens the soul.
For those of you who follow my writing, it will be no surprise when I tell you, “I am blessed!” Sometimes I get caught up in my daily, weekly, and monthly life to remember how blessed I am, and then I will have reminders to be grateful.
My late husband John was always so good at making me feel beautiful. There wasn’t a day that would go by he wouldn’t tell me I look pretty. “You look, nice babe,” “I love the outfit,” were just a few of the kind words he would say. No matter how much weight I gained or lost. No matter how sweaty or dirty I was from doing yard work or how messy I looked when I woke up. He always made me feel beautiful.
John was so kind. Not only to me but to anyone who came across his path. Kindness seemed so simple to him, so natural. John’s kindness rubbed off on the boys and I. His gentleness is something we all miss. The boys never ran to me when they wanted to be comforted. They ran to their father, and he did such an amazing job listening to them and comforting them. His tender heart would melt you.
On the other hand, anytime I was required to take one of those personality tests for a job, I always rated extremely high in empathy. It never surprised me as I always felt like I could understand and share the feelings of another. Probably one of the reasons I write.
Sometimes empathy promotes kindness; sometimes, it doesn’t. I like to think John’s kindness provided the healing I needed in my life to be kind and to love the sometimes impossible to love. His kindness enhanced my empathy, and together, we taught our boys, It takes so much energy to be hateful, kindness goes a long way.
I have been reminded of this all year. Its been happening since John passed. My boys have been so kind and gentle with me. They have been so patient and understanding. They know how much I miss John, yet they are happy for me that I am finding happiness again. I see them growing in ways which blow me away every day.
I have been traveling a lot in the past twelve months. Sometimes it is because I want to escape, sometimes it just opportunity. They always support me when I leave. And when I come home, they want to know all about my adventure. They are not jealous or envious. They are just curious and look forward to the days they can have their own adventures.
Before I left, I had noticed my oldest son Johnny was coming home late from work. When asking him why he was so late, I come to find out he has been taking people, who don’t have cars, back and forth to work — something his father often did.
Upon my recent return home from Clearwater, they picked me up, brought me home, let me sleep, and when I was ready, they brought home dinner, and we sat at the kitchen table and once again I shared my adventures. After we were done, we cleaned up, and before we walked away from each other, we came together in a circle and group hugged. Something John, the boys and I always did. Almost every day. We told each other how much we loved each other and then we went about our night.
Tonight as I got on the scale to see how much weight I had gained on my trip, I was upset because I gained some weight. I put the scale away and began to walk away. As I did my son, Joseph said, “Mom don’t worry, you are still beautiful.” Again something my husband John would have said. Joey is good about reminding me I am beautiful, just like his father did.
I am blessed people, so blessed. I don’t take their love for granted. I thank God every day he honored my life with their presence, and I thank them for being so kind.
Luv, luv,
Julie💙
