First Five Fragments for Friday

Absolutely written upon waking today:

1. Rain sounds lovely through the open windows when I first wake.

2. Last day of school for my daughter means I have to keep my promise about getting donuts.

3. I love hosting guests from other countries.

4. Humidity. Oh boy. Another super-curly-hair day. I hate that.

5. Our house guest shaves his head. Why isn’t that generally accepted for women?

And your fragments are….?

DO A KIND THING

As I was cleaning up the kitchen counter this morning, to make room for the donuts that I really did go out and buy at 6:15 a.m., I came across two thank-you notes that had arrived over the past couple of weeks. One note was for a donation my partner and I sent in honor of a friend’s father’s passing. The other was for sharing plants from our garden with a friend whose own garden needed a few additions.  As I re-read these notes, I thought about what a kind thing it is to send someone a hand-written acknowledgement of something they’ve done that has made a difference to another person. The note about the donation was something I was not surprised to get; people often send thank-you notes for that sort of thing. But the note about digging plants from my garden to give to a friend was completely unexpected and, therefore, delighted me in a completely different way. I thought about other cards I’ve received recently, particularly one from a friend who was simply glad I had listened.

It may be because I am a writer that these sorts of gestures tend to stick with me.  And I’m pretty sure I’m way behind in sending out hand-written notes of my own – I’m much more inclined to write things down online or look people in the eye and say whatever I need to say directly to them. But these seemingly small gestures linger. They matter.

What do you think?