Merry Christmas!

Instead of the usual simple holiday message I thought that this year I’d spread the Christmas cheer through a series of stories highlighting the kindness of strangers.  The following stories are about what seem like everyday acts of kindness to the total strangers involved, but they made a huge difference to me.  So I hope that on this Christmas you’ll read these stories and be inspired to perform little acts of kindness all year long.

Breaking the Silence

I couldn’t have been more than 7 or 8 when a relative of mine took my sister and I out to lunch in the city.  My little sister is only 3 years younger than myself but I’ve always acted like her protector, especially around this relative.  He could be gruff with us kids and sometimes was downright cruel, as he was on this particular occasion.

The restaurant (I don’t remember what it was called) was having a buffet and this relative piled food on my little sister’s plate.  I was able to escape this because I could serve myself.  I quickly finished my lunch, but my little sister, who wasn’t really hungry to begin with, couldn’t finish.  She said she was done eating and asked our relative if we could go, but he said she had to finish everything on her plate.  He then went for a cigarette break, leaving my sister (who was now crying) and myself at the table. Continue reading →