Graduation Weekend

We traveled to Orlando this weekend for my nephew's graduation. It was such a happy occasion. I met so many nice people. I witnessed so many acts of kindness... friendly smiles, open doors, held elevators, and so many compliments. EVERYONE at the hotel seemed to be in love with my mom's dog. He's an 8-pound ball of black and white fluff... what's not to love?!?

My mission on Saturday was to become an official group photographer. I thought it would be the perfect place to offer some help to strangers. "Hey- would you like me to take a picture of the whole group?" I asked a lot of people, and everyone seemed to be very appreciative. Only one group refused. One of the girls looked at me with a very serious (almost offended) face and said, "No, thank you. We really don't know each other very well." Anyway, I just know that one of the pictures that I took of a family inside the arena is going to end up in a frame. Probably an 8 X 10 inch. I wish I had a copy of that one on my camera. They were a good-looking group. :-)
I am a little disappointed with today's act of kindness. After breakfast at the hotel, I helped to straighten up the the tables and chairs in the lobby and I picked up some trash. Then, I straightened up our hotel room so the maid would have an easy time cleaning. The disappointing thing is that most people do that kind of thing without even trying. When I told my brother that I was going to count this as my act of kindness for the day, he shook his head and said, "You're supposed to clean up after yourself. You're the one who made the mess." He's right. I can always count on this brother to keep me honest. He is the one who jokingly calls me "my sister, the blister" because "a blister shows up after all the work has been done." I do have an uncanny way of popping into the kitchen just as someone else dries the last dish. It's not that I'm lazy... really... I just have impeccable timing.

Since I don't have any lovely stories in my pocket, I am going to have to count this little hotel clean-up as my act of kindness today and hope for something bigger and better tomorrow.

Kind Regards,
Your Neighbor