ABSTRACT THURSDAY - LINES

I know this is not strictly an abstract, but I wanted to “think outside the box” - and this brought back a memory from schooldays.  I wonder how many reading this have ever had to stay and write “100 lines” after school as a punishment for doing wrong?

I know I sometimes talk too much - but as far as I can remember, none of my teachers ever tried to find out the reason for this and I was often punished because of it.  The reason was that my mother was a single parent which meant that most days I went home to an empty house, so there was no-one to talk to for several hours.  When I did meet friends or even adults, I would then chat, chat, chat!  Not surprising is it?  My punishment was often to write 100 times something like “I must not talk in class” but as I said, no-one ever asked why I talked too much.

Even now, as an adult, people can be unkind and say things that are upsetting because I chat a lot, but if I didn’t then I wouldn’t have the wonderful encounters that I have and my life would be the poorer for not having them.

You may remember my Blip on Tuesday, when I met a kind stranger.  I decided that I would write and thank the lady and as I made the California poppies in her garden the subject of my Blip, I printed off a copy of my Blip and also made her several cards that she can use, with the photograph of the poppy on the front.

I took them round to her yesterday, on my way home from the hairdressers and just as I arrived at her door, she pulled up in her car, obviously having just collected her two children, who were about 8 and 6, from school.  The lady explained that she had told her children about me sitting on her wall and as soon as they got out of the car, they both said they were pleased to meet me.  I introduced myself and they all told me their names.

I gave her the package and said I was so grateful to her yesterday for her kindness and I wanted to show her how pleased I was.  She opened the package and said she was so touched that I would do this that she could cry.  I ended up telling them about Blip and showing her and the children the shots I take of the Silly Saturday Gang and both the children said they loved teddies!

A bit later, her father arrived bringing her older son home from school, so we all had a great chat together.

I had given her one of a card with my contact details, and in the evening, I had an email from her thanking me again for my kindness;  she said she had been going to ask me in for a cup of tea the day before, but when I told her that my husband would only be 10 minutes, she didn’t.  She also said she was a carer and had been feeling very sad, but the kindness I showed to her, cheered her up.

It’s amazing how a simple kind act can have such an effect - hers to me on Tuesday and mine to her yesterday - and wouldn’t the world be a very different place if we were all much kinder to those we meet?

So, as I said, not really an abstract, but I’m going to tag it anyway - and I have made a frame with lots of lines as a nod to the theme and I have lined my various fountain pens up.  You will see that I did smudge the heading, but I’m sure I used to do that at school too! 

Have a good day and don’t forget to be kind!

“When given the choice between 
     being right or being kind, 
          choose being kind 
               then you will always be right. 
Dr Wayne W. Dyer”

P.S.  I have turquoise ink all over my fingers too, just like I did at school!