Kindness

I've been thinking a lot lately about my sister-in-law, Joyce.  After I met my husband, Joyce was the first of his family members to really welcome me into the family and she's been very special to me ever since.  I remember her trying to explain how this huge family was connected and failing miserably to understand.  My own family was small and not close but Joyce's family was everything that mine was not.  I guess what impressed me the most about Joyce was how kind she was to me, accepting me not as a 15 year old transient in her family but as someone she cared about.

Joyce was, and still is, a beauty.  She'd had a tough time before bringing her two children here but I admired the strength and determination in her from the very beginning.  The rest of the family were nice to me but it was Joyce who delved a little deeper and made me feel a part of them.

I don't think we ever forget kindnesses.  They warm us for a long time and even in distant memory.  Joyce calls herself my "big sister" and it warms my heart every time.  I was so lucky to marry into such a wonderful family but Joyce will always hold a special place because of her kindness to me all those years ago.