Saturday arrived blanketed in snow — thick, heavy flakes that softened every sound. The timing couldn’t have been better for “Mission #14 – Help someone nearby.” The instructions were simple: Do something practical. Make someone’s day easier.
By midmorning, driveways all over town echoed with the scrape of shovels. Emma and her brother bundled up and cleared the walkway for their elderly neighbor, Mrs. Holte, who stood in the doorway clutching her scarf, smiling through the cold. “You’re saving me a broken hip,” she joked, and Emma laughed. Jonas, never one to volunteer for chores, surprised his mother by grabbing two shopping bags before she could protest. “Consider it an early Christmas miracle,” he said, grinning.
Ida and her father spent the afternoon clearing snow from around parked cars on their street, leaving a small note on each windshield: “Merry Christmas — stay safe!” It wasn’t signed, but it didn’t need to be. The message spoke for itself.
That evening, when Ms. Larsen checked her phone, she saw a message in the class group chat — a picture of snowy paths, shoveled clean, with the caption: Mission accomplished — and everyone still has all their toes. She smiled. These weren’t random acts anymore. They were habits forming, kindness becoming second nature.
And outside, under the quiet snow, the footprints left behind told a story no one needed to read — of warmth, effort, and love made visible in white.
