The hours between 3:00-6:00 pm are commonly referred to as "the witching hours" among stay-at-home parents. By 3:00, you have pulled out every trick you had up your sleeve and are often bone-deep tired as you try to figure out what your family will eat for dinner.
I don't remember those hours being much more enjoyable pre-kids. By 3:00 I was often mentally checked out at work and thinking about errands I needed to run on my way home and what I needed to pick up from the grocery store to make for dinner that night.
And then there are the countless number people that are in both camps...working all day and then rushing to pick up their children or meet them at home for dinner, homework and bath/story/bed time.
I had all of the above in mind for this week's Kindness Countdown activity.
My children and I placed short, encouraging notes (download available on Kind Over Matter's blog) on cars in multiple grocery store parking lots during those overwhelming hours. The hours when people would be rushing home from work or picking up last minute ingredients for dinner.
AKA: When they were likely to need a bit of encouragement.
We sat in our van, watching people come back to their cars and read their notes after we finished in each location,. It was so nice to see the recipients smiling as they drove away.
There have been days when I have felt defeated, deflated at best, and a stranger has held a door for me, smiled a knowing smile, or offered a kind or encouraging word. Those simple gestures never fail to turn my day around.
We all have the power to affect moments, moods, and days of others. Let's use our power for good.
"One kind word can warm three winter months." - Japanese proverb
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