Three weeks off; never a day without an act of kindness

I was on medical leave for the better part of a month. It was the first time in my working life that I was forced to slow down.

I wanted to return to work — if only to give my life back the normalcy of consistent working hours versus home hours. What I’m saying is that I don’t sit still with ease — for better or for worse — but I had to in order to heal physically and emotionally from what I’m dealing with.

In this stillness, I also checked out of the news. I was dealing with so much that I just forgot to consider any news important enough to draw my attention away from recovery. Did I worry occasionally that it would put me behind the curve when I returned to work? Sure. But a strange thing happened when I was forced to slow down and tune out the break-neck news cycle of the day — I calmed down. I forgot about mass shootings, my shock-oh-meter got a break from the President Trump headlines, and the trolls could no longer get to me.

It felt like floating.

It was like the experience you’ll hear from someone who lost their sense of taste but can suddenly hear well. In my case, I temporarily lost my sense for news but gained a whole new (and permanent) appreciation for my life and my family.

I didn’t tune out all the news though, I continued to read my kindness stories. I would occasionally take out my phone and flip through the Good News. That helped a lot.

Now that I’m back I’ll continue to share my Daily Dose of Kindness every day on Seattle’s Morning News at 7:30 a.m. But for today, here are some links to my favorite Good News items from my time on leave.

• Widow, widower find happy place at piano from KARE 11 News
• Photographer turned kids with illnesses and disabilities into superheroes from This Insider
• Student leaves college to help dying childhood friend fulfill bucket list from The Washington Post
• Student starts “We Dine Together” club so no student feels alone at lunch from CBS This Morning

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