An Act of Kindness

I fell in love with this photo this morning. I saw it posted on Facebook.  It's a photo of window washers at the Children's Hospital in Pittsburgh.

 

Sometimes a photo just hits me. It's not often, but this one did. 

 

I could see the excitement of little kids running to the windows to see the super heroes. Ill children trying to peer from their hospital beds. Siblings cheering and staring in amazement. Tiny ones dancing about or timidly hiding behind a chair or a parent.

 

Mothers and fathers in the rooms looking at each other with a look of relief to have just a moment of joy - a minute of normal - to see a smile on their  precious child's face in the midst of who knows what - a broken arm, chemo, a difficult diagnosis, or worse - an unknown one. 

 

I thought it was inspirational to think that no matter your job, no matter your "rank", you can find ways to do something to help - to go the extra mile. These guys were willing to do what they could to bring a little cheer or diversion in the jobs they had. They aren't the nurses and doctors and surgeons. They aren't the hospital administration. They are the window washers. They are super heroes.

 

I have to admit that I have taken up a bad habit of reading through parts of the CNN website on an almost daily basis. Awful stories, horrible crimes, often involving children. I loved seeing this photo this morning. I loved seeing "regular guys" in their "ordinary jobs" doing something extraordinary.

 

"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted."

- Aesop, The Lion and the Mouse