Little Kindnesses

(www.bloomington.in.us/ ~cdowd/daffodils.jpg)

I frequently walk in a cemetery a few blocks from home -- nearly 300 acres of arboretum and burial ground for both the elite and ordinary citizens of our city.  It's full of birds and full of history.  When I got derailed from my usual walk to a small lake by a carpool cancellation and the need to drive my daughter to school, adding an extra hour to my morning, I decided to go to the cemetery instead.  It's a beautiful pre-Easter morning: geese honking, woodpeckers pounding away, daffodils beginning to emerge in sunny spots, and lilies all over the place already.

As I rounded a small lake, I noticed a woman carting Easter lilies from her car to a gravesite and asked if she wanted me to carry the last one.  She directed me to the spot next to the one she was working on and asked me to set it behind the marker.  "That lady always puts flowers on my stone, so this morning I wanted to put some out for her," she said.

I imagined her rising early this morning to reach the cemetery before the woman who visits the spot next to hers, and I imagined that woman showing up later today to find an anonymous gift already in place.  It was a nice way to start the day.

Walked: 4 miles in the warm sunshine -- well, it seems warm at 40 degrees, since there's lots of sun and no wind!  Stretched: 20 minutes.  Food: I did fine, except for the brownies... .

Little Success: I've lost 3 pounds since I started this journal, 6 pounds in the last month.