Kill 'em with Kindness...

I notice that when I use one of these older common phrases, where the word “kill” or “die” (this pasta is ‘to die for’) is in it, I cringe a little. But I heard myself use the phrase “kill ‘em with kindness” just the other day while talking with someone about their own challenges with a mutual acquaintance.

The short backstory is that I had a neighbor who is considered by many in the neighborhood to be difficult on many levels. Most people avoid her. After meeting me for the first time, she launched an interesting grenade at me verbally that told me either 1) she was nuts, 2) she was afraid, or maybe 3) a little of both. In any case, I decided not to react and instead to treat her with as much kindness as possible. Long story short, we ended up having a very friendly 2 years of interactions, I came to appreciate what an intelligent and interesting person she is, and when I moved away she said she would really miss me around. A far cry from how we started. I think it was a test for both of us.