Celebrating, Supporting, and Inspiring acts of Kindness

This is a sponsored post, but it’s about a subject and a company that I am very high on. The subject is kindness, and, of course, the company is Kind. I am working with Kind Snacks and LifeOfDad.com to spot and reward kindness this season. Since the beginning of the company, Kind has been supporting, inspiring, and celebrating acts of kindness. To learn how you can follow Kind’s lead and celebrate, support, and inspire kindness, go to www.howkindofyou.com and follow @KindSnacks on Twitter.

Before I write a post, I usually let it stew in my brain for a few days before I type it up. With 4 kids swirling around me throughout the day, there isn’t a lot of time for writing, so I need to have everything ready to go before I even sit down to write a post. When planning this post, I initially considered writing about those people in my church who have showed me and my family acts of kindness over the years, or my neighbor, Andrea, who tirelessly supports our community and raises money for the local Variety Boys and Girls Club. I thought about writing about two of my assistant soccer coaches and how they give of themselves without any thought of getting the glory (whatever glory there is in coaching a six grade soccer team). I considered writing about my son’s involvement with a local food bank, where he stocks shelves and hands out groceries.

I was thinking about the blog post as I helped my mom pack for her upcoming move; she is preparing to leave behind a home she built with a husband she loved and moving on without him. He passed away from cancer a year and a half ago.

And as I walked through my mother’s home looking for things to pack, I saw my step-dad’s hat and jacket hanging by the basement door. For the past two years, the hat and jacket have hung from that hook, as if waiting for their owner to come along and don them on his way to chopping wood or any one of the dozens of activities that took him outdoors each day. As I stared at the hat and jacket, I was overwhelmed with emotion, remembering my step-father’s kindness and love.

Angelo, my step-father, exemplified kindness. He helped my sister and I numerous times, and even though we were his adult step-children, he made us believe that he loved us as if we were his own and as if we had been part of his life forever. He was a chiropractor by trade and his living room was visited almost daily by family and friends in need of “fixing.” Once, he visited an old farmer and noticed the farmer’s horse was having trouble walking. Angelo slid his hand along the horse’s back and hip and located the problem. Within a few minutes, the horse was moving easily under Angelo’s gentle hand. When people had trouble paying their medical bills, he accepted payment in eggs, tomatoes, or other vegetables. He also helped fund local sports teams and gave to community needs or a person that simply needed a fresh start.

We’ve all been impacted by a person’s kindness. And our world could use some kindness right now. Our world could use more Angelos, Andreas, coaches, and boys like my son. As the year comes to an end, please join me and Kind to say “thank you” to those that make our lives better. This holiday season, Kind will acknowledge acts of kindness with a Kind Bar. To nominate someone, go to www.howkindofyou.com and follow the directions to send them a Kind snack. If  only I could share a Kind bar with Angelo right now.

And you can follow along on social media: @KindSnacks and #kindawesome promotion.

Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and Kind Snacks for this promotion.