Be Kind

From Kurt Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, this quote struck a cord with me:

 "Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

There are a lot of traits I've hoped for in my kids - smart, cute, charming - but above all, I want nice kids.  I can't imagine anyone wanting his or her child to be unloving, unkind or a bully.  No, I think all us parents imagine that our kids will be the ones who as toddlers willingly share their trucks and sand shovels, as school-age kids want to invite every student in the class to their birthday parties so no one feels left out, and who as a high schoolers invites the new kid or the loner to join their lunch table.  They'll be the ones all the others parents agree are nice. Or caring, or sweet, or empathetic, or some variation thereof.  Because I believe that kindness will take you far in life.