Being Nice
I began pulling gifts out of a bag to wrap for Christmas for friends and neighbors. And, the last gift that I pulled out was for M, R’s ex (see Our Family Tree). I set the gift on the table and Holly G. walked over to me and said, “You’re really nice to her.”
At first, I didn’t know what to say. I wanted to say, “Yes, and I have no idea why…” But, what came out was, “Well, we should be nice to everyone we know, right?”
“I guess so. Should we even be nice to people who aren’t nice to us?”
I was finally pulling it together enough to see the “teachable moment” within my grasp. “We should be nice to everyone, love. It is especially important to find the kindness for those who aren’t nice to us.”
“Why?”
“Because that is the kind of person that we want to be. And, being kind isn’t about getting something back. It is about doing it because it is the right thing to do.” It wasn’t the most eloquent thing I have ever said, but I think I got my point across. The conversation died there momentarily.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
So, we’re almost done wrapping presents and Holly G. says (out of the blue), “I always try to help Ines at school.”
“You do?”
“Yes, she’s little. She’s only 4. She can’t reach the paper towels.”
“Well, it’s very sweet of you to help her then.”
“She’s not always nice to me, though.”
“Is helping her still the nice thing for you to do?”
“Yes. Maybe she’ll be nice to me if I show her how.”
“I hope so. But, if not, I’m still very proud of you for helping Ines.”
“Wanna watch me do a handstand?” Leave it to Holly G. to change subjects at the drop of a hat….
This is my Pass the Torch Tuesday post. For more information on participating, click here.
relationships, Pass the Torch Tuesday, family, children, long relationships
December 26th, 2006 at 9:21 am
Awesome post, Christina. Excellent sentiment and teachable moment. And your daughter obviously “gets it”.
Thanks for participating in Pass the Torch Tuesday!!
December 27th, 2006 at 3:49 am
It takes a lot of courage and maturity to be nice to not so nice characters.
Nice post.
December 27th, 2006 at 7:17 am
[...] CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRISTINA PAULSEN, WHOSE POST, “Being Nice”, WAS SELECTED FOR THIS WEEK’S SPOTLIGHT! [...]