A Simple Act of Kindness

 As I was standing on duty Monday morning,

I heard a student begin to cry.

Honestly, I didn’t think anything of the tears

Because this particular student cries a lot.

When I asked what was wrong, though,

He told me that the door had hit him.

When I looked at the spot on his head where he pointed,

There was a large goose-egg and a small cut.

The door had hit him hard—

And his tears were genuine!

 

I decided to walk him to the nurse.

As we walked, one of my difficult 4^th grade students walked with us.

He can get so angry or frustrated that he kicks his bookbag or hits his head or yells at the teacher or his classmates,

Or he can be so extremely sweet that it melts your heart.

Monday morning was an example of the latter.

 

My 4^th grader compassionately and dramatically told everyone we passed that

My Kindergartener had his hit head and had a goose-egg.

Then, he looked at the Kindergartener and said,

“Don’t cry, little buddy. It’ll be okay. Try not to think about it.”

When the Kindergartener kept crying,

My 4^th grader said, without missing a beat,

“What’s your favorite car?”

To my surprise, my Kindergartener replied,

“The blue one.”

My fourth grader then engaged my Kindergartener in a conversation about the blue car until we arrived at the nurse.

As soon as my 4^th grader went to class,

My Kindergartener’s whimpers turned back into crying.

His distraction was gone.

 

Sometimes when we’re hurting,

We simply need someone to walk with us.

But sometimes when we’re hurting,

We need a kind-hearted distraction.

May we be the silent companion or the faithful distracter

For those around us.

And may we act quickly to dispense simple acts of kindness—

Even if it means talking about blue cars 😊.

 

Amen.