Kindness doesn’t always show up when I expect it. I’m learning I can’t control that—only how much space I give it, and who I choose to remain.
When I was a teenager, Dad and I were at a grocery store checkout where the cashier was having a hard day. Dad met her with kindness anyway,. I asked him how he could do that and he told me, “Her bad mood doesn’t have to change who I am.”
I’ve carried that lesson with me ever since. Some days it’s easier than others. But it’s still the way I want to move through the world.
This photograph was taken nearly twenty years ago at Tahquamenon Falls, on a cold winter day when the footing wasn’t easy. Dad was always willing to come along when I headed out with the camera. I think of it now as a reminder that I’m still walking with his guidance, even now.
#Grief #Kindness #Photography
#WalkingForward #TodaysSmallMoment
#Michigan #UpperPeninsula
