Hello there, friends!!
Well, it has been way too long since the Superheroes of
Kindness officially reported to duty via their blog. For that, I apologize. Have no fear, the Superheroes have been very
active, bringing smiles and modelling that you are never too young to make a
difference in your community. From
fulfilling a service learning project that painted the turtles at a
neighborhood water deck to chalking up the sidewalk to say hi to parents, the
Superheroes have been going strong.
Except for the occasional blurb, the Superhero blog is used
to report the activities of our young superheroes and the community they
impact. The rare occasion has led to a
personal story, and this is just that case.
Part of the Superhero philosophy is understanding that everyone comes
from their own set of experiences, this providing a base for
understanding. Today’s story is to
explain our absence and get you excited for regular blog reports again.
This story starts on World Kindness Day, 2012. This particular day was extra special to this
Superhero. For the first time, I was
moving beyond our school walls to a classroom of kindergartners that housed 5
Superhero alumni to perform an act of kindness.
Not just any classroom, this was my daughter’s classroom. They were known to be somewhat extra squirmy,
but full of heart. It felt
weird to
leave the MCS Superheroes as they found themselves in a fun music circle thanks
to a local family of fun musicians, but it was exhilarating to visit so many
alum and bringing kindness to another sector of our community. The day was amazing. We read a kindness story and made
flowers. Some children made multiple
flowers, some added extreme detail to a single one. All children wore capes, and all children
wore an expression showing great pride.
The Superhero alumni were proud to share that this was part of who they
were, and folks new to Superheroes of Kindness showed great pride in performing
their act of kindness. They were so
excited; many started their mission planning to take their flowers home to
their families or neighbors but changed their minds realizing they just wanted
to give their handful of kindness away immediately! Many gave flowers to their PE teacher,
principal, secretary, you name it. In
fact, to this day I still have a bouquet on my desk of flowers given to me
during this mission.
The experience was extraordinary, and I knew my child was in
a school that valued kindness and random acts of kindness. I went home feeling invigorated. In true form, as I cooked dinner I started
drafting the blog entry for this mission in my mind. This was the life – still wearing my
superhero glow, making the whole cooking dinner with a tired and hungry child
seem so much smoother than normal. Then
it came. The text that let me know my
mom was on her way to the hospital in cardiac arrest. The next several weeks were surreal. I arrived at the hospital only to have it be
abundantly clear I was walking into a room to find my mom had passed away. We live in the same town, so my daughter had
a very close relationship with my mom. I
found myself having to deal with personal emotions, sharing the news and
feelings with friends and family, and of course, suddenly working through this
with my daughter, a kindergartner. Not
to mention the next morning, yes morning, my brother’s car (right in front of
the elementary school) was hit by a drunk driver. During these few weeks I also had to muster
up the ability to finish grad school and totally flop the final round interviews
for an award I had worked towards for a couple of months. This Superhero of Kindness’ heart became
drained. Beyond drained.
Over what has now become almost two years, I found missions
with the Superheroes continued to provide invigoration, happiness, and solid
footing in what was now a different world.
Performing
Finally, the fear that would overcome me as I would sit to
write an entry has started loosened up. It’s
time for us to inspire each other with how transformative a genuine act of
kindness can be. Over
the next couple
weeks we will share some of the Superhero stories that have transpired over the
course of what appeared to be their absence.
These Superheroes spread kindness all over the town and filled many
buckets while doing so, and boy howdy do they have some stories to tell.
Thank you for listening to this hero’s experience, and
giving the Superheroes of Kindness another chance to show you are never too young
to make a difference in your community.
Here is to a great year filled with kindness!!
Cheers,
Kristal
Kristal
(Aka Superhero of Kindness Shenanigan Bringer)
