Be Kind.

When I think of Klara, I have visions of a goofy little girl in mismatched clothes who loves to giggle. More than what I "see" when I see Klara, though, I've been thinking about what kind of a person I hope she will be and how one parents to nurture that type of person. I hope she will be creative, happy, compassionate, and confident.

Most of all, though, I hope she will be kind. My mothering mantra will be, "Be kind." Kindness motivated by love makes all the difference. I hope that, somehow, even though I will continually screw up, I can model such kindness for my little girl.

Last week our family battled one of our most devastating, difficult battles. We had to come together and remember what "family" means. In that week of craziness (not to mention a few crazy curve balls in my own life), I noticed the power of kindness. I had friends "just checking in" and the sweetness of the salesperson at the store seemed even sweeter. At the same time, an offhanded remark seemed devastating and the guy who honked at me because I misjudged how fast he was going brought tears to my eyes.

We must be kind because we have no idea what the person next to us is facing.


We have no idea.