New-ish

He was a tall boy with a light blue shirt--almost purple in the shade--and light red cargo shorts, carrying a bright green game box. His father had a beard and sunglasses, and didn't appear to be impatient until the box opened and some cards slid out onto the sidewalk. Oh no, the boy said. Let's just go back to the car. His dad, frustrated, insisted he go pick up the cards. The boy obeyed, and as he leaned down to pick them up, more cards fell out.

A girl was walking toward them and turned to help gather the cards. The dad opened the box his son had set down and shuffled the remaining contents around. "Really?" he said. "You put them in like this?"

"They're Apples to Apples cards," the boy told the student. She smiled, replied with something I couldn't hear, and went on gathering. Together, they put the stack back in the box. The dad thanked her; she smiled some more, and walked away.

I see such acts of kindness more frequently than I ever have before (maybe because I pay more attention?) but they never get old. Kindness is always new, and bright, and good--sometimes too much to not notice.