A Treatise on Kindness...

Alright, everyone....

I had planned to post about Missouri--and I will catch up--but even during this hectic but wonderful time heading up to Halloween, I wanted to stop a moment and tell you a few stories of kindness.

I'm not the luckiest person in the world. I've never had the job that would make my parents proud or that would keep me secure. I've never been the prettiest, skinniest, most popular. I've often taken the path less traveled to find much of it coming to a dead end. I've been downright hard to deal with at times, even unloveable. Despite this, though, people have bothered to care, to bless me with little tokens of love in one form or another. Friendship, small gifts, a hello...well, you know what I mean.

I wanted to share a little (more) of this today....

Several weeks ago, I hosted a bee workshop. The attendance was low--a group from PA, with children showed up. The owner was a highly sustainable farmer who grew mushrooms. At the end of the discussion, this is what I was gifted with....

Mushrooms....

And more mushrooms...

So many, in fact (those fuzzy guys are mushrooms called pom-poms, by the way)...

That we barely could fit them into the fridge!!

Trust me, you're looking at HALF of what was given to us!

And they were EXCELLENT! So, if you are interested in some amazing mushroom products, PLEASE stop by Phillips Mushroom Farms website! Great people and great product!

The second act of kindness is a little different. I have a friend, fellow farmer and farm writer Tina Michelle who has the fabulous online Small Town Living...she is funny, very kind, the kind of person who radiates and loveliness....

From her, I learned of a family with three wee girls whose mother was having surgery, and that they might not have Halloween festivities (though I was sure that was the least of their problems)...and would anyone be so kind to send the family Halloween things?

Who could say no to this? So, off went three wee packages of goodies in a box, to three wee girls, a little earlier this week.

I had an acquaintance earlier this week who, when I told her the story said: "well, you don't have much money, why are you sending gifts to people you don't know?"

The way I look at it is this: we all are given opportunities to show kindness. WE are the gifts, and we are all gifts to each other, potential friends to be made--friends in waiting--and not strangers. Yes, it's sappy. Perhaps unrealistic, even. But I won't apologize. The idea of three little happy girls makes me happy. And sometimes, it's as simple as that.

Happy Halloween everyone!
What are everyone's Halloween plans! We plan a full day of fun and festivities Friday and Saturday! More on that, soon...