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This little photo doesn't do justice to the statue of the great Massasoit that overlooks the harbor of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Go there and you will see a grand, so much larger than life monument to the great Native American who helped the Pilgrims make sense of their new landscape and to survive in it in the 1620s.

Massasoit is one of my favorite figures from this era in our history. He was kind because he could be; he certainly didn't have to be. I wonder if the Pilgrims enjoyed the irony of their situation as they worked so hard to satisfy the demands of their business partners back home who expected compensation for the boat ride to and the real estate in the new world. No mercy there.

I like the story of Massasoit also because it reminds me to appreciate kindness from everywhere, including from the least likely of places and to accept the grief when it does not come from the most likely of places. With that idea in mind, thanks to:

1. To old friends who forced open locked doors.
2. To Ted the Recycling Guy for his words of wisdom and his gifts;
3. To Joe down the way who baked cookies for Della when he found out she was sick last winter;
4. To dad for watching Della at the crack of dawn whenever I have asked;
5. For mom for watching Della whenever I have needed help;
6. For the Lundwalls for being wise friends;
7. For Delmo the guinea pig whose passing taught us to cherish the sanctity of even the smallest of lives;
8. For Tapper the guinea pig whose continuing life is always a source of fun;
9. For the deer who cross my path from time to time and show me pure grace;
10. For the old turtles around here who remind me everything is forever somehow, somewhere;
11. For the kids I teach who cause me to realize a gentle heart will not be broken;
12. For the spirit of all who have gone before who make me and make my world; and
13. For you for being here and reminding me we are never alone.

Thursday Thirteen