kindness begins with me...

There is this little song I grew up singing in my church primary class. It goes like this, 

I want to be kind to everyone, for that is right you see.

So I think to myself remember this, kindness begins with me. 

Simple. Two lines. 24 words. Huge message. 

This is one  life motor I have tried to teach my children all their lives. Kindness begins with me. She they are being fussy or rude to each other, I yell down the hall, "kindness begins with?" And immediately I hear up to 4 little voices yelling back, "ME!" 

 I have this amazing daughter, {D}. Well, they are all amazing, but today I want to post about kindness, and this girl has such a genuine kind heart that I would LOVE to let shine here.

{D} is tender and genuine and thinks hard about the kind of person and friends she wants to be. She doesn't understand why children she meets/knows can be rude or mean. She is thoughtful and giving and kind. Let me tell you a little story about our special girl. 

A few years ago, maybe four years, my sweet little {D} was in here primary class at church when a sweet new little boy was brought in. He was DARLING! A face that makes you wanna just smooch it! And gorgeous blonde thick long it hair that was shiny and smooth. THAST is what my girl noticed first. This sweet boy was headed to her class' row to sit. His mom was helping him in. She pulled over a special seat they designed for him to help him sit straight and safe. He has Cerebral Palsy so he needed assistance sitting. As soon as his mother headed {D's} way, she quickly went to him. Making sure he was welcomed and had a place to sit and that he wouldn't be lonely. I was at the time the music leader so I watched the entire thing unfold. My heart was so full. I wasn't surprised for one second, but to watch a small child do such a sweet thing melted me. 

Each Sunday following, my girl would do the same thing, make sure he knew where he belonged...right next to her. It was maybe the second Sunday that my girl starting to play with this sweet boys hair. It was her FAVORITE thing to do. And he let her. I think he really liked it actually. ;) They became INSTANT friends. He trusted her. And she adored him. 

It wasn't long after they first met that we noticed something really special about these two. It wasn't JUST about kindness. It was about something more. And both sets of parents saw it quickly. These sweet children had a special friendship. One that I could only imagine started long before they came to Earth. Because being LDS, I believe in a life before this one. I believe in a heavenly life where we knew each other and were a family. I believe we came to Earth to be tested and learn and grow, And I believe one day we will move on form this Earthly life and return home to Heaven and to our family that we left behind. Those who have gone on before us and those who are waiting their turn. With this belief, I believe we have special friends on Earth that we knew then and we are so lucky to be with here as well. I have met in particular friend about 10 years ago that I truly can only chalk our relationship up as Heavenly. We are kindred spirits if you will :) THAT is what I believe is the relationship that {D} has with this sweet boy. Because if you see the two of them together, you would ONLY think that same things as well. 

The boy and his family didn't stay long in our ward. maybe after a year or so,  they moved to another part of our town, about 15 mins away. They went to different schools so they didn't see much of each other.  Then his family moved 4 hours away. They returned to our town a year or so later. ALL these moves couldn't keep their friendship from growing. These two LOVE each other. They have made sure ( with the help of their mama's ) to have movie trips and swim days and invited to each others birthday party. 

This sweet little boy couldn't say too many words when they first met, but he has an awesome computer that he can use to speak. His parents have created special buttons for common words and phrases he uses. It wasn't long after they met that there was a button with {D's} name on it :) 

There have been many times when I drive away from the movie theature, after dropping my sweet girl off with her friend and his mother, when I watch her push his stroller into the theatre. With each play time, his mother tells me what fun things they did and my heart swells for the way this sweet boy loves and trusts my daughter. And how she loves him and tends to him. I remember at  her birthday party my eyes were caught on her as she swam away from her other friends to make sure her sweet boy is happy and fine and included. And how sweet is it that he makes sure he takes her for a special treat on her birthday? 

Last week we got to attend his first baseball game. {D} stood so proudly watching her friend as he walked with his dad to the plate. His dad held him tight, helping him grip the bat, swinging with him to hit the ball straight in the air. She was so proud of him. When he didn't make it to first base she was so worried for him, so we ran to him by the dug out. She helped clean the dirt off of him, handing his mama a wipe for his face, giving him water to drink. And then stepping back to give him some space to recuperate and take a deep breath. 

These children are amazing. The are such great examples to us all.

These two have made plans for their future :) They have talked about it over and over. These small sweet innocent perfect children have a friendship of pure trust and kindness. This girl of mine is pure beauty. Her heart is the most beautiful kind. Her genuine desire to be kind radiates. I am so happy I get to be her mom. This tiny girl was maybe 5 years old when she befriended a sweet boy who couldn't even speak to her, and maybe couldn't understand her. But because of kindness, he knew what she was saying and she knew exactly what he was saying.