The Pot of Kindness

A friend gave me a simple gift.

You are so grateful for it. It really helps on a rocky path. It's as if someone is crouching down in front of you, or next to you, to dig out, roll away or at least wear down the sharp edges of the stones tripping you up. You are not walking alone.

Yes, kindness. In your sister's phone call, your cousin's email. A friend's text. Your husband's words, a doctor's words, the counselor's words. An afternoon walk with H., in his leather jacket, and Sug, in her plaid fleece coat. A planned lunch date with a very nice editor.

The phone rings. Your mother-in-law, with caring words, or your pal, just checking in. A part of you wants to say, Don't try to make me feel better. It won't work! I'd rather wallow in my pain. How can you understand, anyway? Your life is going well. What do you know about fear and uncertainty like this? I'm terrified and alone. I don't know how this story will end. But even as you type this, you feel like a brat saying it. You, so lucky to know people who care. But that's truly how you feel.

Spoiled as you are, you're fortunate; the kindness keeps coming. Supportive readers post comments on your blog. Your brother-in-law, an artist, sends a handmade card. A casserole is delivered to your front door; so is a beautiful fresh fruit arrangement. A pear is pressed into your hand by your sister, an orange by your friend. A little girl makes you smile. Another calls twice to say she wants to come see you. A teen sends you a beautiful thank you note [for something you did] on hot pink paper. You get other flowers, notes, letters. Thoughts. Good words. Even a few friendly ones from the man collecting your dollar on the Garden State Parkway. Someone takes a moment on her way to pick up her daughter at crew practice to say Hello, Alice, I want to talk to you, but I'm really late getting to the river. We'll talk later. 

Peeling Back the Years
Now you're off to enjoy the Minneola* orange Patsy gave you tonight when you stopped over to return a glass [in which she had poured you a delicious PB shake last week, made with a lite vanilla protein shake mix packet, skim milk, six ice cubes and two tablespoons Skippy].

Yum. That orange truly is delicious. Who is this person? You? Loving fruit? You got sick of oranges when you used to have one in your lunch bag every day at St. Mary's. The citrus somehow did not sit well with that little red and white carton of milk.

So, you think, maybe change really is possible.  Maybe an old life really can be transformed into a fresh, juicy, healthy one.

Good night.


*Per Wikipeida: The Minneola tangelo (sometimes misspelled "Mineola") is a cross between a Duncan grapefruit and a Dancy tangerine, and was released in 1931 by the USDA Horticultural Research Station in Orlando. It is named after Minneola, Florida. Most Minneola tangelos are characterized by a stem-end neck which tends to make the fruit appear bell-shaped. Because of this, it is called the Honeybell in the gift fruit trade, where it is one of the most popular varieties, but the proper name is Minneola.