be the good.

There is a paved trail here in Lansing that we like to frequent. It has beautiful scenery and leads to a park with a man-made lake and a playground. I went on a walk/jog with the kids today with my precious new jogging stroller. We cruised along until we reached a little dock and stopped to enjoy the view. I looked down at Quinn, and she only had one shoe.

A few days ago I took the kids shoe shopping by myself, because shoe shopping with three little people is super easy. We have gotten Carly these Nike sandals the past two years, and were planning to make it three. They are the perfect kid sandal, easy to get on, well-made, comfortable, and light. They are also Nike, and as a family of five on a student income, they are a splurge. So we got Carly her third pair and Quinn's walking skills earned her her first pair. They are adorable.

So here I am, a mile into my jog, and Q is missing one of her sandals. The girl has a history of ditching her shoes, and I'm angry at myself for having her wear them in the first place. I felt genuine sadness and a bit of panic: two day old expensive shoes that were meant to last an entire summer, gone.

So Carly and I headed back down the way we came to find it. "There is something pink!" Carly exclaimed. Oh, you mean that lady walking in a pink shirt? Yes, very helpful, thank you. I scanned the ground methodically, feeling hopeless. About a half a mile back, I think I do spy something pink. And as I came closer, I was probably a little happier than I should have been. There it was, placed up on a post by a thoughtful passerby.

That passerby had no idea what that sandal meant. They didn't know it belonged to one of three children of a PhD student and his stay-at-home wife, who live tight and spend carefully. They had no idea that a stressed mama was praying she'd find it. They had no idea that they would totally make my day. But they saw a shoe, and they put it somewhere where the person looking for it couldn't miss it.

A few weeks ago we were at library story time. We stayed too long and the babies were losing their minds, and right then Carly decided to throw a tantrum because she wanted me to come pick a movie with her. So I locked the babies in the stroller and headed down the movie isle while they screamed. I was frazzled. I was tired. I was on the verge of tears. I get like that when they are winning. But as Carly picked her movie (Princess and the Frog for the 700th time? Sure!), I noticed the screaming had stopped. I walked out to find a mother with two older children, reading my babies a book. Tears of gratitude sprung to my eyes and I blinked them away. "Thank you so much," I told her. She looked at me and said, "I've been there. It gets better." And she wasn't judgmental, she wasn't sarcastic, she wasn't negative. She meant it. And her words lifted me up that day.

That was a long story about a lost shoe and a random story about how I'm a wreck at the library, I know. But I've been thinking a lot about kindness today; a lot about "good". 

I was on a run the day of the Boston Marathon bombings and I was thinking about all the evil in the world. Shootings at elementary schools and bombs at marathons. What will be next? I looked up at the beautiful trees and felt the first warm breeze of the year on my cheeks, and I think Heavenly Father was reminding me that there is so much beauty. There is so much good. It is moments like the ones I shared that remind me of that good. As a mom of three littles, I'm the recipient of a lot of judgmental looks and snide comments, but I'm also the benefactor of doors held open, smiles shared, and kind words.

Today I resolved to try a little harder to be a little better. I get caught up in my crazy little circus and rarely notice the needs of those around me, whether big or small. I want my kids to be the kind of people who hold doors, offer smiles, pick up dropped items, and read books to screaming babies. Because you never know when you'll make someone's day.