2 Nice Mom

I'm always being accused of being too nice. I'm puzzled. Can a nurse be too nice?

No one has ever confronted me and said, "You were too good to my mom when she was in the hospital," or, "You smiled too much when my baby was born."

If I make it to Heaven, will they fail to open the gates for me because I cared too much or showed too much compassion?

Just yesterday I found a slip of paper on my daughter Elizabeth's dresser, with the following: Mom 2 nice.

Did my own daughter think it, too? I began to soul search. Was I too nice? Okay, maybe I shouldn't leave a full six-course meal in the mailbox for the mail carrier every morning. And maybe I was going overboard when I was in Hallmark and that lady sneezed-I suppose I shouldn't have bought her that plaque which said, "God Bless You," for $16.95. And maybe it was awful nice of me to walk the neighbor's dog every time I walked in my sleep.

I decided to change a little. I only left blueberry muffins in the mailbox the next day and I decided to stop offering free babysitting to tourists and vacationers.

It was hard trying to be unnice. I asked my daughter for advice about that slip of paper I'd found in her room. "Oh, that," she said. "I was mad at you that day for loaning my sunglasses to your cousin's brother-in-law's scarecrow and I wrote that, on a scale from 1-to-10 in niceness, you were a 2."

I laughed. What a nice thing to know!

I would like to acknowledge that there was one beautiful mother who was indeed nice in every way. Her kindness and compassion will be remembered forever. I was surprised and pleased to learn that Princess Diana loved to laugh and was quite mischievous. I dedicate this Full Nest to her memory.