Tag Archives: kindness

Turtle Magic!

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I followed my nose and ended up at Lake Padden today. On my walk around the lake I stopped to sit on Wendell Holboy’s bench. I feel connected to Wendell and his bench – his wife, Noemi, had been one of my mom’s friends in the last years of her life, and his granddaughter, Emily, had been one of my 8th graders. I always smile when I see his name on the plaque by the bench, and think of Mom and Noemi and Emily.

As I was sitting there, this sweet little family passed by – Papa, Mama, infant in a stroller, a toddler on a balance bike, and a smiling pup. The toddler fell off his bike just behind me, and I could hear his parents talking with him – turning his fall into a game. I loved their approach – and I told them that. The little boy got a big smile on his face and started scooting his bike to me – he recognized right away that I was a friend. He footed his bike right up next to me and gave me a big grin. My grandma heart melted.

I learned his name was Max, his parents were named Thomas and V, his four-week-old baby sister was named Phoebe, and the smiling pup was named Potter. I saw that V had a climbing rope attaching her to Potter, and asked her if she was a climber. I learned that both she and her husband were climbers, and that she’d climbed Washington’s “five peaks.” I told her I’d climbed Rainier, Baker, Adams, and Hood with my dad when I was younger, and we talked about climbing for a bit.

Thomas and V gave me permission to take photos of their family, but the one that I think works best here is one of their family from the back – Max toodling along on his balance bike.

There’s this place between the two docks on the east side of the lake where I’ve sometimes been able to spot turtles lined up on a log. I remember my surprise the first time I spotted those turtles maybe a decade ago – I’d never seen turtles in the wild before. I don’t think I saw turtles on the log last summer, though, and when I didn’t see them today, I felt my heart sink. Maybe, I thought, turtles don’t live at Lake Padden anymore.

I was almost back to my car when I saw a big brown lump ahead of me in the middle of the trail. At first I thought it was a turtle, but then I laughed at myself: “Karen, you’ve got turtles on your mind.” But as I got closer and I saw a head sticking out of the brown lump, I realized it WAS a turtle!

I didn’t think the middle of the trail was a very good place for the little guy to have placed himself, so I picked him up and told him I was taking him to a better place. As I walked him back to the spot where I’d seen turtles before, I passed the sweet family I’d met earlier, and little Max reached out and touched the turtle’s shell, a look of wonder on his face. Mickey saw the turtle and started grinning – she and I took turns taking photos of each other with the turtle. Chuck passed by with his pup, Bella, and got that same look of wonder that Mickey and Max had gotten when they saw the turtle. I put the turtle down on the shore next to the water, and, after a few minutes – when he felt safe – his legs poked out of the shell, and he darted into the water too fast for me to snap a picture. MAGIC!

On the way back to my car, I passed Alaena with her paddleboard – I told her that I needed to try that someday, and she got a big smile on her face, and told me I absolutely SHOULD try it! She said it was totally worth the 100 bucks for the paddleboard, and graciously agreed to let me take a photo of her posing with it.

Blue dragonflies flitted around in the bushes and landed on the trail in front of me; and a family of ducks swam around near the reeds – mama, papa, and two fluffy ducklings. Awww…

“This Place Attracts Kindness”

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May 31:
Today when I landed in Fairhaven, I got there so early that my car was the first one parked on the block. It came to me that I hadn’t been to the Cafe Blue in a while, and I decided that that’s where today’s adventures would start.

Even that early, the cafe was brimming with happy people when I walked in. Micah, the owner of the cafe, looked over and saw me and greeted me. He remembered me! – and thanked me again for the book I’d given him last year. The counter person who was taking my order asked about the book. I told her that I like to write stories about the cool people I meet on my adventures, and Micah is one of those cool people and he’s in one of my books. She grinned and wrote down my name so she could find my books at the Bellingham library.

The Cafe Blue is one of those places with an abundance of magic.

Micah and his cafe are magnets for kindness and good will. When I was done ordering my mocha and a strawberry pastry, I found one last table that wasn’t occupied, and settled onto a bench there. The young man in the line after me wasn’t going to be able to find an empty table, though, and I told him to feel free to share my table with me. He smiled and thanked me and settled onto the other end of the bench to work on his project.

I watched people come into the shop and greet each other, laughing and enjoying their time together, while soft music played in the background. When it was time to go, I stopped to say good bye to Micah. “This place attracts kindness,” I told him, “and you’re at the center of it all, Micah. Thank you.” Micah smiled his wonderful smile and thanked me for coming back to his shop, and we wished each other good days.

I wandered down to Marine Park from the cafe. A couple coming out of the park told me that they’d been watching a fledgling osprey learning how to fly, and told me where I could find it, if it was still there. Alas, it was not. But I did see my old friend, Dan, and his pup, Jakada – it’s always good to see them. A rousing game of kayak polo was going on in the bay, too, and I stopped to take a couple photos.

I decided to check out the heron rookery and see how the chicks were coming along. The chicks have GROWN since I was last there. Every now and then one would stretch its wings – like it was preparing to fly. That was cool to see.

I went through the dog park, and through the woods for a while, and then, when it was time, back to my car.

I met new pup friends today: Elmer and Hoby and a sweet little blue-eyed pup whose name has slipped into the ether. I met new human friends, too – Luke (the blue-eyed pup’s human), and the couple that told me about the osprey; and about half a dozen people at the rookery who shared the heron magic with me. Bill was there, too, feeding peanuts to the crows he met along the way.

I always leave my walks in Bellingham with a smile on my face, feeling good about sharing this planet with such beautiful earthlings – two-footed, four-footed, feathered and furred.

Reminders from the Cosmos

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Fairhaven was all green and sparkling this morning. Everything looked fresh and new. I found wonderful magic up there today.

I got up there early enough that I could get free parking for a couple hours. I parked near the Village Green and then – because the trail is still closed between Fairhaven and Taylor Dock – I hiked up a block and then over and down to the gateway to the boardwalk.

There was a gentleman sitting on a bench there with a big backpacking pack and a couple bags, and, as we watched a little bird flitting around under the gateway, we struck up conversation. I learned his name was Mountain Wiserd. He noticed my amber necklace and told me about the rocks and fossils he’s found on his travels. He told me about a piece of amber he’d once found that had a mosquito in it – the mosquito made the amber special, and a museum had bought it from him. He’d also found a fossilized tooth from some kind of dinosaur with a duck bill – and his find had led scientists to the site, where they’d found a whole skeleton, as well as a prehistoric nest.

Mountain asked me if I could buy him a coffee and some food. I told him sure, and we walked together down the boardwalk and to Wood’s Coffee shop in Boulevard park, where I bought Mountain a coffee and a sandwich, and bought myself a lavender green iced tea. We hugged and parted there – Mountain to go to the second floor of Wood’s to eat his sandwich, and me to continue on my walk.

As I was beginning my walk back to the boardwalk, I saw that the new picnic table that’s been roped off while the baby grass grows around it, is now officially available for use. I’ve long been awaiting my inaugural use of the table, and headed that way. Two of the maintenance crew sprucing up the park were standing nearby, and I told them how excited I was to finally use the picnic table. I asked them if I could take a picture – “I’m a Boomer, so this will probably end up on Facebook.” And they laughed and graciously agreed to let me take their photo. I asked them their names – Kyle and Armando – and introduced myself to them. “I am a Boomer AND I’m named Karen.” They started laughing, and posed for me in front of the picnic table.

I settled into the picnic table with my tea and scrolled through the notifications on my phone. I could hear Kyle and Armando chatting in the background, and at one point I heard Armando tell Kyle that “Leo” was his brother. I perked up when I heard Leo’s name. Leo is the man who keeps Boulevard Park and the Village Green clean and functioning. I told Armando that I’d just seen Leo getting the restrooms above Taylor Dock ready for a new day, and I told him that Leo is one of my favorite Bellingham people.

After I’d sat at the picnic table for a bit, I got back onto the boardwalk and headed back to Fairhaven. I met little Charlie pup and gave him a pet, and my old friend, Dan, appeared with Jakada pup. Dan and I hugged and wished each other a good day, and I went on up the ramp from Taylor Dock, up a block to by-pass the trail closure, and back down to my car.

My entire walk I felt like I was enclosed in this peaceful bubble of Love – greeting Leo, meeting Mountain Wiserd, chatting with Armando and Kyle, giving sweet Charlie pup a pet, and running into Dan and Jakada.

I’m so grateful for these reminders from the Cosmos that the world is still a beautiful place.

I Am Looking Forward to That Podcast

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Danielle, owner of Otter Beans Coffee stand, is a joy-giver. And a character. She is a joy-giving character. Also – she makes the best home-made whipped cream in Skagit County. Possibly on the planet.

Whenever I need a lift, I head for Otter Beans. I know I’ll get a smile there and a really good lavender green iced tea, if that’s what I want. Or a mocha. With the home-made whipped cream.

I happened to be there one day when CJ, a delivery driver, was there – and the back-and-forth banter between CJ and Danielle was so quick and so fun it was like watching a comedy show. I told them they should start their own podcast. Seriously. They nodded their heads and said they’d take my idea under consideration.

And today – when I stopped in for a mocha (with the home-made whipped cream), Danielle’s friend, Sarah, was visiting. Again, the banter. Because I am hard-of-hearing, I couldn’t pick up on all that was being said between them – but I got pulled into their laughter, and their joy, and their friendship. I suggested that Sarah should join Danielle and CJ in their podcast. Danielle nodded and agreed that Sarah would be a nice addition.

I admitted that I couldn’t hear all of what they were saying to each other, but I felt their friendship and I felt their fun. Danielle glanced back at Sarah, who was grinning, and said that Sarah had just told her she was going to set up a rival espresso stand across the street and call it “Better Beans.” I, literally, laughed out loud.

I am looking forward to that podcast.

Tearing Up at the Sweetness of It

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I just have to share this quick glimmer I experienced today in Fred Meyer’s. I put myself in line behind a little family – a mother, a girl of grade school age, and a little boy sitting in the seat in the shopping cart. The little boy was shaking a tube of candy and making it rattle, and he was having such fun with that, I found myself grinning as I watched him. I asked him how old he was – and I held up two fingers and then three – “Two? Three?” He held up three fingers in response, and said, “Three.” I told him my granddaughter was going to be three in a couple months, too. The little boy’s mother turned around and smiled at me then. She knew she was looking at a grandma.

I asked the little girl if she was a big sister, and she smiled and nodded her head. I told her I was a big sister, too – I have two little brothers, and I know what it means to be the “big sister.” I told her I could tell she was a good big sister, and she smiled.

The mother and daughter talked in Spanish for a moment, then I saw the little girl get out her own wallet. The mother had already paid for her groceries, but now the little girl was going to pay herself for her own art supplies. Her mother patiently helped her count out the money – one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten – the total for the purchase had been $9.93 – so now the mother and daughter counted out three pennies, so that the little girl would get a dime back. They carefully put the cash and pennies in the cashier’s hand, and the cashier smiled and placed a dime back in the little girl’s hand.

And I can’t even tell you what there was about this exchange that so touched me, but I found myself tearing up at the sweetness of it.

“I Really Need a Smile Today”

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Okay, so I was a little obnoxious yesterday. (But what else is new, right?)

In the last week, I’ve noticed that people aren’t as quick to exchange smiles with me as they used to be. At first I took this personally – thought there might be something wrong with my appearance in some way – but I quickly rid myself of that notion – I mean, I’m as glorious as ever, right?

It occurred to me that maybe folks are really struggling right now and that smiles are just really hard for them to summon up. I decided it was time to bring out all my weapons of kindness.

I made a quick stop at one supermarket to use their restroom and see if they had a couple items I was looking for. There’s an employee storage room kitty corner to the restroom and I smiled at a man standing in the door to the storage room and he… well, he didn’t smile back. And then another employee came out of the restroom and I smiled at her, and again, nada. I smiled at a third employee who was stocking stuff, and got nothing. So I asked her – in just a chatty way – “People don’t smile any more, do they?” And SHE SMILED A BRILLIANT SMILE, and said that she’s noticed that, too.

I found the items I was looking for and went to the self-checkout. I smiled at the woman who was overseeing the checkout, and got nothing. So I scanned all my items and paid, with her in the background watching. And then I asked her about the bag I’d brought in for my groceries – it used to be when I’d put it in the bagging area after I’d rung my items up, that I’d be tagged by security as trying to steal the bag – was that going to happen now? She SMILED and said they’d changed things, so that wouldn’t happen anymore. I told her I’d known I’d be okay because she’d been watching me and knew what I was up to, and she laughed. I thanked her for doing such a good job, and she smiled again, and pointed at my shopping bag. It says “DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS” on it and she wondered if I was a traveling doctor. I told her no, but I donate to the group. And she thanked me for doing that.

I wheeled my groceries out to my car. I noticed a man of about my age, wearing a safety vest, was cleaning up the parking lot with one of those stick things. I wheeled my cart to the cart corral, and then got in my car and rolled down the window to speak to him. “Thank you,” I said. “Thank you for keeping the parking lot clean.” He looked surprised that I’d even noticed him, and smiled. He told me he was actually a store clerk, but his hours had been cut recently, and he’d been off work for a while. He’d just gotten called back to do what he was doing. I thanked him again for doing such a good job, and he smiled.

Now in another superstore, I smiled at a woman of about my age, and got a blank stare in return. I decided to try a different tack. “Hello,” I said to her. She turned and looked at me then, AND SMILED. “I just needed someone to smile at me, and you looked like someone who would do that,” I said to her. She grinned then, and nodded, and gave me a beautiful smile.

Maybe in these interesting and challenging times, when it comes to smiles, sometimes I just need to be explicit: “I really need a smile today.”

“During this final conflict, wicked minds will endeavor to find means by which to accomplish more evil; but those who discern Christian Science will hold crime in check. They will aid in the ejection of error. They will maintain law and order, and cheerfully await the certainty of ultimate perfection.”
Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 97

What Are the Odds of THAT?!

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So this really cosmic thing happened today on the boardwalk. I was walking along, enjoying the sunshine and the people and the pups – my old friend, Baker pup; Archie and Buddy; Blue and Maverick; Murphy (who did his Buddha pose for me); and my old friend, little Daisy – and I had to stop and snap a picture of sweet Baker greeting someone on the boardwalk with his paws on the man’s chest – it was just so typical of friendly Baker. Baker always puts a smile on my face.

When the man caught up to me, I showed him the picture I’d taken of him and Baker, and asked him if it was okay to post it publicly. He smiled and thanked me and told me it was fine to post it. I asked him for his name, and he told me he was Ve. “Is that a Vietnamese name?” I asked him. Ve looked surprised that I would recognize a Vietnamese name, and I explained that my Australian daughter-in-law is of Vietnamese heritage, and that she and my son and granddaughter are all learning Vietnamese. Ve asked if they’d ever visited Vietnam, and I told him they’d gone a year ago to visit some of my daughter-in-law’s family who still live there. Ve told me then that his wife was there right now visiting her family while he stayed here and watched the children.

Then Ve said he was a “street photographer” and took pictures of people he met – and we realized we had that in common, too! He said he’d taken a photo a while ago of a pup named Bear and he’d made a card for Bear’s human. He’d been been looking for her for a couple months, but hadn’t run into her again. I asked him to describe Bear, and he took out the card he’d made and showed me Bear’s picture. I instantly recognized little Bear, and told him Bear’s human, Rebecca, was a good friend of mine! (What are the odds, right?!) I told Ve that I’d actually met Rebecca on the boardwalk several years ago (via little Bear), and had run into her again when I’d gone up to Mount Baker for a hike, and we’d become good friends! Ve’s face lit up in a big smile. He said he could totally see the two of us as friends, and asked me if I could get the card to Rebecca.

So on the way home, I stopped by Rebecca’s house to give her the card. She happened to pull into her driveway just after I got there, and I was able to deliver the card in person and get a hug, too!

Cosmic magic, my friends!

It Was Like My Whole Experience Had Been Choreographed

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From the moment I stepped out of my car in the Fred Meyer’s parking lot yesterday afternoon, to the moment I arrived back at my car after shopping, I felt surrounded in magic.

When I arrived, I grabbed a small shopping cart which someone had shoved under a tree in the parking lot, and waited to cross the pavement from where I’d parked to the sidewalk in front of Fred’s. A truck stopped for me, and I gave the driver a smile and a “go ahead” wave, and got a wave back. When the truck went on through, a woman came to the sidewalk, waiting to cross over to where I was standing. We smiled and waved at each other and executed a perfect cross-over together.

As I slowly weaved my way through the store, everyone I met – of every age and color and gender – exchanged a smile with me and treated me with kindness. And when I got to the produce section, a man glanced over at me and, in the same moment, we recognized each other. I scrabbled around in my memory and came up with the name “Matt!” Matt was a former co-worker of my husband’s at the Skagit Valley Herald, but had left his career as a photojournalist to teach full-time in Anacortes 15 or 16 years ago.

Matt’s wife, Jill, a second grade teacher in Anacortes, was there, too. When Matt went to introduce me to Jill, he said, “I’m sorry, but I don’t remember your name…” And that TOTALLY made my day! I have often been that person – the one who doesn’t remember the name – and I felt so proud that I hadn’t been that person THIS time. I thanked Matt for not remembering my name – told him it was reassuring that THIS time I won in the name-remembering thing, and Matt nodded and laughed with me about that. For the next little while Jill, Matt, and I exchanged stories about our teaching careers – talked and laughed and got caught up.

I noticed a young Fred Meyer employee stocking the bananas and intuitively turned to him and smiled. He grinned back at me and said yes, he had been listening into our conversation. Enrique said he wanted to be a school counselor someday – he wanted to be that person who helps students stay in school and get their diplomas – and he was enjoying our conversation about teaching. Enrique was so cool! He was excited about his future in education, excited about getting his degree, excited about helping others. Enrique gave me hope for the world.

When it was time for us to continue on with our shopping, I asked Jill if I could have a hug – because there’s nothing like the hug of a second grade teacher – and she laughed and gave me a bonafide second-grade-teacher hug, and I got a bonus hug from Matt, too.

I got in the checkout line behind a couple maybe in their eighties. I enjoyed watching the way they worked together as a team with their groceries. It occurred to me this couple had maybe been together fifty or sixty years. Watching them, I was kind of in awe of them.

A man came up behind me in the line with no groceries at all. I asked him if he’d like to go in front of me, and he said no, he just wanted to get a pack of smokes and he wasn’t in any hurry.

I turned back to the couple in front of me, just as my former dental hygienist (now retired), Misty, walked by with her husband. Her face lit up into a big grin when she saw me, and we waved at each other and blew each other kisses. Magic!

Now the older gentleman in the couple in front of me in line turned around and smiled and mouthed the word “sorry” – I think he was apologizing for his transaction taking so long – and I laughed and told him it was all good.

After I’d paid, I headed for the exit. I saw a woman in the lobby looking at the shopping carts – there were only a few large ones there. My groceries were not so heavy that I couldn’t get them back to my car without a cart, so I asked the woman if she’d like a small cart. She smiled and said she would. So I took my bag of groceries out of my cart and handed it off to her.

It was like my whole shopping experience had been choreographed or scripted or something: Enter stage right with a small shopping cart; exchange smiles with people; run into Matt and Jill; get into conversation with Enrique; get behind the sweet couple at the checkout stand; pass off the cart to the woman in the lobby; exit stage right.

Magic, my friends!

The Things That Are Freely Given to Us

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So there’s this verse in the Bible that I’ve been pondering the last week, and it’s led me to a better understanding of what real wealth is. Here’s the verse: “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (I Corinthians 2)

I’ve come to understand that things like patience, kindness, honesty, compassion, forgiveness, fairness, and joy don’t cost us anything, and are the door that leads to the heaven that Jesus said was “within” us. We can’t find patience or kindness on a shelf at the supermarket. We can’t put a gallon of honesty on our debit or credit cards, or use Venmo to buy a pound of forgiveness. We can only find those things within us. And there’s no limits to those things – you can’t run out of them; everyone has equal access to them; and they’re totally free!

I’ve been really conscious of drawing on the unlimited supply of patience and kindness this week as I’ve navigated my way through the challenges of life. I’ll admit I haven’t always been patient or forgiving this week – but I feel like I’ve made a start to finding my way to heaven. I think the more I practice, the easier it will become.

Power to the People!

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There was a good turnout at the rally in Sedro-Woolley this morning.

Xavier and Eduardo, in the green safety vests, helped organize the event, and acted as crosswalk guards to get us safely from one side of the roundabout to the other. (And see? We even had our own chicken to help us answer the question: Why did the chicken cross the road?)

I ran into some of my old colleagues who taught with me years ago when I was a teacher in Concrete – it was so good to see Mary and Paul, John, and Larry again!

Germaine was there, too! And Chris – who I met at a rally in MV in January, and who is one of my “old friends” now.

I met some new friends, too – Calisa, who talked about the importance of showing up at the rallies in our small hometowns, and Jonathan, who shared his experiences as a soldier deployed to Iraq after 9-11.

Jonathan said that when he’d signed up for the service, the U.S. wasn’t involved in any wars and he hadn’t expected to ever find himself fighting in the middle of one. But when he was in boot camp, 9-11 happened, and everything changed. During his time in Iraq, the command car got blown up and his commanding officer lost a leg, and his First Sergeant lost half her face. Soldiers he served with in Iraq lost their lives. Jon’s experiences in Iraq have informed the way he looks at our current war in Iran, and I am so grateful to him for his willingness to share his thoughts and experiences with me.

I left the rally feeling inspired by the people I met there, and the positive response we got from the cars passing through.

Power to the people!