I have an amazing kindness team that includes three women who are way kinder than I am. I’m not being humble. It’s true.
They also have a way of noticing the kindness around them, which continues to inspire me to see it in my own life.
Sarah Tachon, who is my marketing guru, shared this refreshing story of kindness that I wanted to share with you.
“It was a normal running day this summer and I was taking it all in. My feet hitting the pavement, cool tunes in my ears and beautiful fresh air. I love watching the houses in the subdivision I run in and making a mental note of who lives there and the things they care about, like a nicely manicured yard or washing their lawn mower every week.
“On this particular day, I was running by a house and a lady was working in her acre-sized yard. She yelled something to me and I couldn’t hear her, so paused to pull out my headphones. ‘Your dog looks tired’ she said. As I stopped (glad for the break) and smiled at her, I said, ‘Yes, but I encourage him to keep running.’
“She was not the first person to notice my 5-year-old Labradoodle, Jordy, lags behind me when we’re running. We chitchatted for a bit and somehow it turned into a conversation about us both missing going into Hobby Lobby during COVID. Before I left, she told me her name was Sue.
“Since Sue’s house was on my running route and she liked being outside, we would see each other from time to time and wave or chat. I learned she is 73 years old, loves Harley-Davidson motorcycles and baking. She is married to Mike, who worked at a prison for over 20 years. They have two grown kids and two fur babies whom they absolutely spoil.
“About a month after I met Sue, I became a witness to one of the simplest, yet kindest acts I’ve ever seen. I was running by Sue’s house and noticed she had left a white bowl by the mailbox. As I got closer, I saw it was filled with water. Sue had left water out for Jordy! My heart was absolutely overflowing.
“Sue started putting fresh water in the bowl every other day. Jordy learned to look for the white dish, and I appreciated the excuse to stop at Sue’s house. Every time I saw the white bowl, I was reminded of Sue’s kindness.
“I had an extra copy of Nicole’s ‘Kindness is Contagious’ book and left a copy in Sue’s mailbox. She later told me this is one of the nicest things anyone has ever done for her! Sue and I are pretty good friends now. We have each other’s phone number and exchanged brownies.
“Sue had to have cataracts surgery this week and you know what? The fresh water in the bowl was still out there! I’m not sure if she has her husband trained to freshen up the water or if she replaced the water with one eye closed, but either way, Jordy was grateful for the drink and I am grateful for the friendship.”
It turns out Sue’s kindness really is contagious. A woman who lives nearby heard about the idea and has started leaving a water bowl out for passersby too!
Please continue to share your stories of kindness with me at info@nicolejphillips.com.