Woman found handwritten notes at her door. When she checked the doorbell camera, she couldn't stop smiling

You never know how your one act of kindness can make someone's day without you even realizing it. Whether it's a heartfelt message, a shared meal, or a helping hand — one small gesture can have a lasting impact not just for the receiver but the giver as well. The Big Joy study, which surveyed nearly 50,000 people across more than 200 countries, found that small daily acts of kindness, called "micro-acts of joy," can meaningfully boost mental health, happiness, social connection, and even physical well-being. For one woman who shared her story on Reddit under u/fairy-of-nightmares, that act of kindness came from two little girls she didn't even know, and it left the "biggest smile" on her face.

The woman described in her post that she was spending a regular afternoon in the kitchen with her mom, making homemade sushi and listening to The Cranberries, when the doorbell rang. "We both look at each other in confusion for a brief moment because neither of us was expecting anyone," she wrote. When she checked the peephole, no one was there; after waiting for a few minutes, she eventually opened the door. "Right away, I see two small folded-up pieces of paper lying on the ground. I'm looking around like, 'What the heck? Is this some kind of weird prank?'" She quickly grabbed the notes and brought them back inside. Upon unfolding the papers, she immediately recognized the writing — it was from a child. One note said: "Dear Neighbor, continue dreaming, working hard, and being awesome. No one is just like you. Love, S.O. Happy for you."

The second read: "Dear neighbor, when the going gets tough, the tough get going! You got this! Just work it out! I know you can do it, so just try your hardest. Signed — Anonymous Neighbor." She shared, "My heart instantly melted. That small act of kindness meant the absolute WORLD to us, and even though the girls don't know this, the encouragement and support those simple words carried were exactly what we needed at the time." Curious to find out who had left them, she and her mom decided to check their security cameras and "lo and behold it was two darling little girls around the ages of 8–10," she said. They watched them pulling the notes from a bag, placing them gently on the ground, ringing the doorbell, and sprinting away laughing.

"It was the best ding-dong ditching that's ever happened to me, and I must say, whoever is raising these sweet girls is raising them right!" she said. Later that day, while she was out walking her dog, she spotted the two girls again, hugging each other and giggling. She said, "It was the CUTEST THING EVER! What I would do to be that age again!" She never saw them before that afternoon, and hasn’t seen them since, but the moment stayed with her in a way that felt almost meant to be.

Reflecting on the experience, she said, "THAT is what life is all about, my friends. Spreading love and good vibes." People in the comments were equally amused by the thoughtful act of the girls. u/caidFTP said, "Now those are some parents who are doing their job, but also awesome kids. I can almost guarantee they decided and took the initiative to do that themselves." u/Ambitious-Fig-5382 added, "Awesome! I'm going to suggest this to my kid when she's older and more confident with writing."