Kindness of strangers

Since the Pandemic began, I’ve spent almost every minute at home. As the days drifted by, I found myself staring out the front window, looking for anything. A squirrel. A distraction. Or better yet, the mailman.

I have decorated the front door with colorful drawings and a simple note thanking the front-line delivery people for their dedication. And I’ve kept them busy, delivering all kinds of items … from work supplies to toothpaste. I even had TSC deliver scratch and seed treats for my obnoxiously loud chickens.

So this afternoon, when I was pretty darn sure the mailman had already stopped by, I opened the door. And instead of finding a stack of junk mail, I discovered a plastic bag hanging from the doorknob. Inside? Three egg cartons, and an anonymous note.

“We saw that we have hens in our neighborhood!! We’ve been saving up our cartons. I’ve heard owners of hens appreciate them. Cheers.”

My heart leapt with joy. Not only a thoughtful gift, but cartons are in high demand with five laying chickens. (I’m only supposed to have four, but two look the same so I’m hoping optical illusions will work in my favor.)

With many of us staying at home these days, the foot traffic to see the girls has significantly increased. Often I’m working in the yard, and watch from a distance as families with small children, older couples, kids on bikes pause at the fence and get lost watching the hens dart in and out of bushes.

So while the gifts of cartons were simple, they were everything. An invitation to remember I’m not the only one who finds solace in the chickens.

Especially in this time of relative isolation, the kindness of strangers reminds me that kindness abounds.