Day 65-The Candy (Wo)man

Day 65-On day 65 in my journey of kindness I completed an act of kindness that has the potential to impact a number of people. I collected the candy from my house and filled two full gallon size ziplock bags. I got into the car, buckled my son in and headed off for the day. After I dropped him off I continued my journey to work. When I got to work I hustled into the building and dropped my things off in my office. I then took the two bags of candy to the nurses' station. I told her nurse on duty I was donating the candy for use to give children when they have their blood drawn, for prize box, etc. She smiled and accepted my gift. I hope that my donation will offset any cost for candy and will also provide the children with a smile. I love where I work and feel so fortunate every day to be surrounded with kind and generous souls. I guess my act today kept that cycle going in a way. Interestingly, I had to get my hair trimmed tonight and while my stylist worked we talked about my acts of kindness. She asked me a difficult question. She wanted to know what my favorite thing I have done so far is...and...I couldn't really answer her. I told her that there are so many acts that have been important to me and special, some big and some small, but perhaps the most life changing thus far is the experience I had at the Maya Angelou presentation. I told her that the most profound thing to me on this journey, so far, is how much it has changed me. There is a famous quote, "The more you change the way you look at things the more thing you look at change" and that is certainly true for me. I am noticing more and more the kindness and compassion that others show me and one another. I do not take for granted that someone holds a door for me or negate an encouraging word with suspiciousness. It's like my heart is growing and I am allowing myself to be more open. Not all who know what I am doing get it. Some are cynical. Others believe me to be naive. I am quite the opposite actually. I know that there are horrible and awful things that happen in this world. I hear the stories every day. In fact, I am a warrior against the negative as I put on my armor of kindness every day. I am not perfect and, in fact, far from it. I get grumpy and am short with people, but I don't mean to be. I hope that others can afford me some forgiveness and understanding that I too am a human being that is imperfect and a work in progress. I will keep growing through this journey. 200 more days of kindness...are you in?

Day 64-Stay Warm Little One

Day 64-On day sixty four I completed an act of kindness for the youngest daughter of one of my cousin's. As you know, if you have been reading my blog, I both knit and crochet. My cousin's youngest daughter just turned three and she is a sweet little thing with blonde springy curls and a beautiful smile. I decided to make her a scarf of some sort as a late birthday present. As I started to work on the project, I was struck with the complexities of a toddler wearing a scarf. For example, it can get caught in a zipper or a seat belt. It might dip into a puddle when playing outside or become entangled in play equipment. As I continued working on the scarf, I decided to make a change. I worked on the piece and changed it into an infinity type scarf or a neckwarmer with buttons so that it could be easily slipped on and off for both comfort and coziness. I crocheted a sweet flower to embellish the piece. I gave it to my mother to deliver it today. I hope she will like it! Additionally, a medical professional completed an act of kindness for me. I had to attend my routine physical exam, and before leaving he told me he thought I needed to get more sleep. He pulled out his prescription pad and wrote a prescription for my husband to act as a buffer to help my son go back to bed rather than waking me up when he has trouble sleeping. Amazingly, my husband did not protest and did what was written on the little piece of heavenly paper. Maybe my positive energy is coming back to me ;). 201 more days of kindness...are you in?

Day 63-A Day of Kindness for My Family

Day 63-On day sixty three of kindness day sixty two caught up with me :). I got home after midnight, which for a mom of a toddler is like never going to bed, and was so tired this morning when my son awakened me with the chickens (if you're a country girl you will get this reference). My husband, although he had gone to be early, was still sound asleep. Without complaint I swung my legs out of the bed and quietly brought my son downstairs. I turned on the television to one of his favorite shows and settled in to snuggle with him on the couch. He turned to me and batted his big blue eyes and asked, "mommy...will you make me pancakes?". I was so tired and just wanted to stay curled up under the blankets but I went into the kitchen and began to pull my supplies together. I took down the cookbook full of my PawPaw's recipes that my aunt so lovingly put together after he passed away and got to work. Although my son never got to meet this wonderful man, he resembles him in so many ways and will forever remain connected to him through his cooking, my family storytelling tradition and his own appearance that is similar to my special grandfather. I made pancakes and then we had a picnic for breakfast. I let my husband sleep until he could sleep no more, although I desperately wanted to do the same. Although these acts seem small, I did them with a grateful and serving heart. I put their comfort and happiness ahead of my own and hope that they know how much I love them. 202 more days of kindness...are you in?

Day 62-An Act of Kindness for Myself...Is that Cheating?

Day 62-On day sixty two I continue to feel tired and overwhelmed at times. I am trying to stay positive, but some days I am so tired and drained it makes it difficult to carry on this task. I know that there will be tough days and I continue to try to make sure that I am continuing on this journey. I am trying to not only be kind to others but to also be kind to myself. If I am tired, I try to rest. If I am hungry, I try to take a moment to eat and eat something healthy. There are many areas in my life that could use some tuning up especially those focused on self care. I am reminded that when I travel on an airplane the stewardesses, after they show the escape routes and emergency exits, remind that I have to put on my oxygen mask before putting on any other person's to help them. In other words, if I don't take care of myself, I am not able to be a good steward or provide for others. Sometimes with a toddler it can be difficult to carve out time for myself. As I work full time I feel guilty not giving him every moment that I have that are possible to spend with him. You may have an opinion about this...it's fine...I am just a working mom doing the best I can. So, today, I decided that my act of kindness would be to do something for myself. I scheduled a massage with a provider whom I adore and set off to spend my evening soaking up the gift to myself and then spent the remainder of the night with some wonderful women celebrating my sweet friend who will be getting married next Saturday. I laughed and shared stories and loved every moment. I got home much later than I had planned, but it was well worth it to re-energize myself. 203 more days of kindness...are you in?

Day 61-A Great Big Thanks and Some Things Don't Work Out

Day 61-Today is day 61 and, once again, I am posting late. This has been a very busy week and I have found that I have had difficulty posting on time each day. I will be mindful and try to keep up as the next week approaches. Thank you for your patience and forgiveness of my tardiness. On day sixty one in my journey of kindness, I crafted special and genuine thanks for the work that others do on a daily basis that supports what I do. I created a message of thanks, that I hope will result in feelings of appreciation and respect for the difficult tasks that they face on a daily basis. I could not do my work without their support and wanted to make sure that they all know how much I appreciate all that they do! Additionally, today I received a sad message from my friend in San Francisco. She did not receive the art I made for her until today...yes it took that long to get to her, and it was damaged in the process. Apparently the work took a swim in the ocean because it was water damaged and then delivered to her home. She was thrilled, although the integrity of the piece was damaged. Fortunately, the message of the work was still in tact and she could appreciate the message and love that I sent to her. I am reminded that some times good acts fall short of the goal. Although things don't always work out the way we would like I think we should not be thwarted from our goal of creating positive energy, a culture of kindness and love for one another. Who knows how the work got wet? Maybe the postman tripped and fell or the truck was leaking...I'm grateful it arrived. 204 more days of kindness...are you in?

Day 60-Encouragement and Other Important Things

Day 60-Today is day sixty, and I know I promised a recap, but I'm running a little behind. I will do a recap during the weekend to provide an update on the acts of kindness, people impacted and some future plans. On day sixty I realized that during my average day I am presented with the opportunity to provide kindness to others on a regular basis. I took advantage of these opportunities today. Even though tasks took more time and resulted in more work than I had planned to have to finish up tomorrow, it was worth it. I offfered encouragement, support and gave the greatest gift of all...time to others today. I spent time attending an event, time with people I work with and gave a listening ear to a co-worker while also providing support and encouragement for the work that they do. Many days, I am so busy I have hardly the time to eat lunch or use the bathroom and I could get overwhelmed by this and excuse myself to provide for my own care (not that this isn't important...because it is) but today gave of my time to others. Needless to say, when I got home I was tired. I spent the evening playing with my son and husband and laughing and then fell asleep with my son after reading him his bed time story. Wow...what a day. Regardless of how busy I am, I am finding acts of kindness are in my path every day. 205 more days of kindness...are you in?

Day 59-The Gift of Hospitality

Day 59-On day fifty nine on my kindness journey I was unsure what my act of kindness might be. I lent an extra hand at work, provided a listening ear for someone who needed to be heard and allowed cars out in front of me in an unhurried style. I saw lots of smiles, waves and heard many thank you's today. As I was leaving work, my husband called me. He told me he had several friends who would like to come to our house for dinner and to "hang out." Inside, I died just a little. It's not that I didn't want them to come over, as we always enjoy their company, I just started to think about our mess, how tired I was and what in the world we were going to do for dinner. I knew my husband really wanted to see his friends and knew that we would all benefit from a few good laughs and time to catch up. I took a deep breath and said, "sure...how about pizza?" and kept walking to my car. We've all had those days where what we wanted more than anything was to go home, take a bath, curl up on the couch, and enjoy an adult beverage, but those days are long behind me with a toddler in tow. I figured they wouldn't judge our mess and if they did, I'd ask them to help out cleaning up :) and putting things away. Needless to say, it was a great night and gave my husband a much needed re-charging of his happiness batteries. All were sweet to our son and enjoyed spending time with him. It was a great evening, that could have been ruined if I let the planning side of myself or the structured needs I have get in the way. Instead I accepted that everything "is as it is" and moved forward. I gave them the gift of hospitality and myself the gift of acceptance and some freedom. 206 more days of kindness...are you in?