A Lesson in Kindness

I was on a walk with my girls yesterday when I noticed that my two year old daughter had something on her shoe. She was dragging her shoe along the sidewalk to try and scrape it off, smearing whatever it was behind her. I also noticed several snails (the big ones that look like Spongebob's pet Gary) out on the sidewalk. I squatted down to point out the snail to my daughter and ask her to say hello to it. Then the most disturbing thing happened.

My little girl raised her foot, smashed that little snail, and ground it into the concrete.

I was shocked. I was horrified. I was speechless for a minute. I knew that I had to do something, but I didn't know what. I couldn't bring the snail back to life, its shell was shattered and its slimy body was plastered across the sidewalk.

Finally, I decided that the only thing I could do was express to my daughter the importance of showing respect and kindness to animals. I told her that God created all the animals, even the snails and that he expects us to be kind to them and take care of them. I explained that it is our job to keep them safe, and not to step on them. It hurts them when we step on them.

I am not sure if my message got through to my daughter, but she did apologize to the snail before we continued on our way. Hopefully the next time we meet a snail, it will be greeted with a friendly hello, and left to meander on its way.