Surprise!!!

   Our family has a LOT of birthdays in January. We celebrate on the 11th, 17th, 19th, 21st, and 26th. So many birthdays that it is only the 18th of the month and I am sick of cake....
   On the 11th, it was my turn. My husband made arrangements for my Mom to watch the kids so we could actually go out by ourselves. I was looking forward to having some time to do something that didn't revolve around kids, work, appointments, and all of those busy things that eat away our time.
   However, there was a much more devious plan in the works. When we stopped to drop the girls off to my Mom, I walked into a room full of some of my favorite people. Surprise!!! I didn't have a clue. I was almost as surprised that my 9 year old had kept the secret as I was at the party itself.
   It was a wonderful, thoughtful expression that my family and friends had put together. Good food, yummy cake, presents..... But my favorite part was reading the handwritten notes that each person placed into a small basket. The notes from the adults were encouraging, uplifting, and gracious. There were also notes from some of the teenagers that were so thoughtful and sweet.
   One note in particular was written by my 15 year old nephew. He and his older brother have been crashing at our house for a while due to some difficulties. I never gave much thought as to what kind of an impact we were having on them....We simply incorporated them into the day to day routine of our crazy life without question or reservation. I blinked back tears as I read his words scratched onto the paper. "You're a very kind person. You always make sure we are not hungry."
   It dawned on me that most of us never have the opportunity to know how simple acts of kindness may have affected another person. I was blessed to have caught a glimpse of that as I spent the evening being showered with kindness by people I love.