the smallest acts of kindness in action

remember how we talked about the smallest gesture?

how  opening a door, holding a door, offering a smile, looking the cashier at Wawa in the eyes and saying thank you, letting someone go before you in your car or in person--is the magic of the season.  well, Larry and i were out shopping this weekend.  we have a ritual when we go shopping together.   it always ends with us going to a restaurant and sitting at the bar for a cocktail and appetizer; it's our thing.  while we were doing "our thing," a man walks in (yes, I realize this sounds like a joke--a man walks into a bar...).  he looks around and we can tell (i mean, it is our thing), he was tasked with getting seats at the bar.  we offer to move down one spot as there will be 3 of them (his girlfriend and her daughter are still shopping).  we chat.  we chat about cocktails and he is a big fan of a smoked old fashions.  we meet his girlfriend and her daughter.  we chat some more, and we find out the daughter has 3 children under the age of three, the youngest only 3 months old.  it's time for us to leave; Larry asks for the check and tells the bartender to buy our new friend another cocktail from us. 

the look in the man's eyes is something I won't forget: pure delight, surprise, joy! the smile, the look in his eyes said way more than the words of thank you he spoke.  it felt so damn good to bring that kind of joy to someone from a small act of kindness.

  the smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention.

--Oscar Wilde 

the WiLdEsT part? as we were walking to the car, i told Larry about my prior newsletter/blog post about the small act of kindness.  yes! this is reason 1,420 why I adore this man.