February 8, 2020

Kindness – to act humanly, be considerate of others. It only takes a few seconds to show kindness; opening a door, picking up a dropped item, volunteering, donating, and reaching out to others. Kindness is the word for the week.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass…It’s learning to dance in the rain.” Vivian Green

My best forever memory of a simple, but meaningful act of kindness was thirteen years ago. On Veteran’s Day my sister and I were taking my dad to the doctor. Dad was a Navy Veteran of World War II and he was wearing his Bunker Hill cap. He had suffered from Alzheimer’s for nine years.

Thursday was a difficult day and we were having trouble helping him out of the car and into a wheelchair. As we struggled, a man approached and asked if he could help. After he helped us, he bent down and looked into my Dad’s eyes and said, “Thank you for your service”. My dad, who had been unresponsive, gazed back, gave a little smile and said, “You’re Welcome”. The struggle and sadness of the morning was ended by a random act of kindness. In that moment I was dancing.

Starting Monday Feb 10, the Lee’s Summit Community is focusing attention on being kind. Please join us in creating a memorable week and look forward to some dancing in the rain.

Roby Little
Human Relations Commission Member