Did you know that today is World Kindness Day? It was born out of a series of international conferences held in Japan and has since become a day just perfect for committing random acts of kindness.

With that in mind, why don’t we start right now by being randomly kind to those people in our lives that we’d like to thank more often: our kids’ teachers, neighbors, friends, family, co-workers. Everyone likes to hear a kind word or receive a little friendly nudge of encouragement, right? Just click on the “comment” button below and feel free to offer a shout-out to anyone you want to appreciate on this day of kindness.

We’d like to start the ball rolling by saying thanks to the nwaMotherlode mamas (and one dad — Bro. John!) who write here on a regular basis: Amy, Kim, Jennifer, Jackie, Jacqueline, Rhonda, Melanie, Stephna and Teresa. And a special thanks to our graphics guru, Greg, and Web site tekkie, Kevin. You all rock!

And, not to get sappy, but we want to thank our husbands for their ever-present love, patience and support since the beginning of this WWW journey. Thanks, guys!