ROOTED IN LOVE â—½ HOME
Every day after lunch, my kids and I (and our dog) walk to the mailbox to check the mail. We live in the country, so our mailbox is at the end of a long driveway and out the gate, about a tenth of a mile from our house. So this is kind of our midday stretch, after school and before chores, just a little bit of fresh air and sunshine together.
Lately, the kids have found it great fun to hop on their scooters and race me down the hill to the mailbox, beating me by a mile as I trail behind them on foot. One day they did this and then also raced back up the hill before I had even reached the mailbox, laughing and whispering about something as they passed me. I didn’t think much of it and just kept going, grabbing the mail and carrying it back up with me.
There was an envelope addressed to me and the return address was really strange, so I curiously opened it up while I walked back to the house. Inside was a handwritten note that said something along the lines of, “Dear Kaelin, I love your books. They’re the best books in the world.” And then it was signed by some person I’d never heard of before. My heart swelled at such a random and thoughtful note from a total stranger.
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Then I realized two things.
The first being that the envelope had no actual stamp on it. It was hand drawn and looked very convincing at just a glance. The second being that the handwriting was suspiciously similar to my daughter’s. My heart swelled for a different reason.
It made sense with their strange behavior a moment before. My precious, sweet children had raced down to the mailbox to put in a fake letter to me. They’d gone out of their way to write something nice that they knew would make me smile, and they’d done it anonymously because they knew it would be a surprise. Needless to say, I couldn’t keep the grin off my face. And I couldn’t help hugging them and thanking them for doing something so thoughtful and kind.
And that was one of the many lessons I’ve learned from those two sweethearts. That it’s important to encourage people in their dreams. It’s important to compliment people and do nice things for them. It’s important to make people feel special, even if you don’t get any credit or recognition. Little acts of kindness can go a long way toward making someone’s day, or even toward encouraging them not to give up.
I’m so thankful for my children’s generous hearts, and I pray that I can be the same way. Toward them as they grow and follow their own dreams, and also toward the people around me wherever I go. I want to make people feel like their dreams matter, just like my kids did for me.