I believe kindness is contagious, thanks to my mother who infected me.
For years I watched my mother be the peacemaker in the family. She was always kind and never once bad mouthed anyone. She never took sides when I fought with others or thought differently of me when I made a bad choice. She would listen and tell me to always be the better person. I was to be kind no matter how bad that person hurt me. She would always declare, “Kill them with the kindness”. I would inquire and ask, “Why do I have to be the one to do it?” Like most mothers, her reply was “because I said so”.
I remember standing at my mother’s casket embraced in the arms of my siblings. From across the room I heard my uncle whisper, “I hate to say this, but this will probably be the last time those children are that close, their mother was like glue and kept them together.” When I heard that, I froze. I assume by the look on my face my uncle knew I heard him. He pulled me aside and said “Listen kid, you are the one who is most like your mother and if you want your family to stay together, you need to be the one to do it.” “But how?” I cried. My uncle smiled and said, “You know how”.
Since that day, I was determined to prove my uncle wrong and I did. We stuck together, we were there for each other and most of all we were kind to one another. Whether it was to be a shoulder to cry on, babysit for free or do an errand when one was sick, we would all return the act of kindness each of us displayed. It was not my mother who kept us all together, she was not the glue. It was her kindness and she had infected all of us with it. We learned to spread it to one another. Sadly, it has been almost 12 years since her death, but since then, we are closer than ever before.
One rainy day as I came out of a gas station, I hurried to my car to realize my daughter was not behind me anymore. She came running up to me out of breath, “Sorry mom, I was holding the door for that elderly man , some people are so rude, but I am not, who cares if I was getting wet, the man needed to get inside out of the rain”. As we both looked back, we saw another child holding the door for someone else. My daughter and I looked at each other and exchanged smiles. I recognized at that point she was infected and I gave it to her.
Although my mother is not here for me to ask her “Why do I have to be the one?” I can simply answer that myself now.
I believe kindness is contagious. Infect someone, like my mom did to me.
