Perfect Strangers

My daughter and I  recently participated in a project whereby you swap a shoe box of small gifts with a perfect stranger.  This project was organised by the magazine 'Oh Comely', which my daughter reads, and called 'The Perfect Strangers' project - fab name, it's a very cool magazine.  This week we got a box of gifts from our swap partner:-

Thank you Lizzie in Brighton for your lovely gifts

You were the perfect Perfect Strangers Swap Partner

My daughter and I really enjoyed putting Lizzie's box together:-

We were both able to introduce ourselves and the sort of things we liked when we signed up for the project.  Lizzie likes vintage and kitsch so we had a lovely time choosing gifts for her, I couldn't help myself but include some of my crochet, all gifts were approved by my daughter who has a good eye for gift choosing.

I have experienced lots of kindness from perfect strangers, and otherwise, in recent times - from Lizzie keeping her side of the bargain and putting such thoughtfulness and care into the presents she chose and the way she presented them, to the kind, thoughtful comments you lovely bloggers leave on my blog posts, to my son and I being welcomed into the home of perfect strangers in Berlin last year when we spent five days in that fabulous city. It really does help life along and I am very humbled and grateful for every kind act.

Stephen Fry on kindness: What I wish I'd known when I was 18

I suppose the thing that I would have like to have known or be reassured about is that in the world, what counts more than talent, what counts more than energy or concentration or commitment or anything else, is kindness. And the more in the world you encounter kindness - or cheerfulness which is its kind of amiable uncle or aunt - the more… just the better the world always is. And all the big words - virtue, justice, truth - are dwarfed by the greatness of kindness. 

Thank you kind, perfect strangers, one and all

and Happy Thanksgiving Day

 xx