"You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late. " ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


Yesterday was a typical Monday, not enough time to do all that had to be done. My to do list was full, my laundry basket fuller, the sink, the in box, even the phone messages were full. The only thing empty yesterday was the refrigerator. I etched out a moment in my day to run to the store and replenish our supplies, which seem to vanish in an instant in this home of growing children. With shoes on, list made, coupon's clipped and a lunch hour to spare, I stood from my desk.
The knock at the door was frantic, it wasn't the doorbell, it wasn't a tap, it was a knock of need and it scared me half to death. As we opened the door, we found our neighbor holding her dog of 17 years and crying for help. He was dying, she had come home for lunch to him laying in the back yard, she needed someone to drive her to the vet. The next twenty minutes are a blur of driving, and rushing in, calling her husband, calling her office, and sitting helplessly as she had to decide to put her beloved pet to sleep. I held her hand and I held her as she sobbed. I walked beside her every step of the way because she kept looking to me to be there.
 If you had told me two days ago that my lunch hour yesterday would be spent this way, I wouldn't have believed you. Yet, there I was. After it was all done, when I returned to my desk, I looked at my to do list and marveled at what it doesn't say. It doesn't have, "Be There" in big black letters. It doesn't say, "Take time to listen". It doesn't say, "Cherish the day". It doesn't say, "Take a deep breath", or "Keep things in perspective", or "Call a friend".
That is the thing about lists, when you make them you have to leave space for the unexpected and important things in life.

Today's list will look a lot different, I'm leaving room............