Willpower

23 days into Lent and I still haven’t eaten sweets. That’s what I gave up this year. I know, it seems odd, as I am questioning my religion and “trying out” different churches to see where I feel a good fit. Through it all, I still keep the Catholic Lenten sacrifice going. Not that giving up desserts and sweets is really a sacrifice, but it is tough. Last year I gave up cheese. Now THAT was a sacrifice!!

I am always able to succeed during Lent. Catholic guilt? Maybe because somehow I do it every year. There is no other time of the year that I can stick to a diet or eating plan. My willpower falls to the wayside every other time but during Lent, I don’t cheat once. Ever.

There are all sorts of blogs and articles written about not giving things up but instead doing something for others during Lent. I decided that I’d give away my sweet treat everyday to someone else. My Random Snacks of Kindness find their way into coworkers’ mailboxes each day. To me that is the fun part. I look forward to it each morning. I don’t even get to see their reaction, but I like to think it brings a  bit of happiness to their day.

Lent is coming…what to do?!?

Wednesday, March 1 is the first day of Lent.When I was a little girl, I always gave up gum. Every year, I gathered it up any time someone offered me some and I’d hide it in a box in my dresser. By Easter Morning, I’d have a big pile of it and eat most of it that day! That was before my dad owned a candy store and I could have as much as I wanted whenever I wanted.

As I have gotten older, I still give up a few things during Lent but I also like to try to do something as well. For the last few years I have done “Random Snacks of Kindness” and left treats in my coworkers’ mailboxes. I still haven’t decided what to do this year. I will still give up dessert – it actually is good for me because I eat too much of it anyway! No chocolate, cookies, brownies…the entire time. Last year I gave up cheese and that was one of the hardest things I ever gave up. Not sure if I have the willpower this year. I am a bit of a stress eater and with the amount of work I have doing between my job, grad school, the many committees I am on and just parenting – I don’t think I will be able give up both!

I saw a decluttering idea, to get rid of 40 bags of stuff in 40 days. I NEED to do that, I am just not sure if I am capable of doing that! Another idea, “say three nice things to family members everyday.” This could be tough right now, having a moody teenager in my home. I don’t know if he even says three words to me all day.

I have one week to decide. What are you doing? I’d love some suggestions or ideas!

Random Snacks of Kindness

Lent began today.  Forty (+) days of no dessert.  That will be my “sacrifice.”  Some days that is harder than others.  I will also do an act of kindness each day.  This morning I found this cute graphic that I am going to use for some of the treats I might give out.

I tied it to a yummy KIND bar and put it in the mailbox of a coworker today.  Today’s photo prompt is XOXO and although it doesn’t say it, here…I think it has the same meaning.

Fat Tuesday

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday.  The first day of Lent.  Last year, along with giving something up, (which I do every year,) I decided to do an act of kindness everyday.  I enjoyed doing it so much, that I am going to do it again this year.  Whether it is as simple as leaving a treat in a coworker’s mailbox or cleaning snow off a neighbor’s car, I will find something to do everyday for someone else.

It was so much more rewarding than just giving something up.  I still plan on doing that too though.  I love to indulge in a sweet treat after dinner each night.  During Lent, I try to give that up.  Most years, I am successful at it.  Somehow being tied to “Lenten Guilt,” makes me stick to it, because it never works any other time of the year!

Global Pay it Forward Day

It is here.  Global Pay it Forward Day.  A day that I  think should be celebrated more than once a year!

For this year’s international Pay it Forward Day (PIFD) we are aiming to inspire over 3 million acts of kindness around the world. Imagine the difference that would make!

During Lent, my “Lenten Sacrifice” was doing a random act of kindness every day for the entire Lenten period.  Everyday, I put something in the mailbox of a coworker with a little note attached.  A few times it was an orange with a note, “to add a little sunshine to your day.’  Several times it was chocolate or cookies with a note saying, “To add a little sweetness to your day.”  None of it cost a lot.  I don’t know if anyone realized who it was  leaving the treats in their mailboxes.  I never stayed around to watch the reaction when they went to their mailbox and found it there. That wasn’t the idea behind it.  I didn’t do it for the recognition.  I did it because it felt good.  I did it with the hope that it would inspire others to do a random act of kindness of their own.

This afternoon, we were out for a bit and Drew came across a row of vending machines.  He always looks inside the coin slots to see if any coins were left behind.  Today, he found that $1.50 had been left in one of the machines.  Not in the coin slot, but in the machine itself.  He is convinced that someone did it because today is “Pay it Forward Day.”  We have no idea if this is really the reason money was left in the machine, but the fact is, it got all of us thinking about what RAK we should do for someone today.

Tonight, the kids played another game of miniature golf.  There are some amazing mini golf courses down here and they’ve tried them all.  For our RAK, we left money for two kids to play the course.  The woman working there didn’t know about Global Pay it Forward Day, so it was fun to tell her about it because it got her excited about it too.  We don’t know who will get those next two games, but hopefully whoever does, will pay it forward by doing something else.  That’s the whole idea behind this day.

While Pay it Forward Day focuses on marketing the concept of selfless giving for just one day a year,  everyday can be Pay it Forward Day by connecting to the Pay it Forward Foundation at http://www.payitforwardfoundation.org/

 

 

Looking for inspiration!

I go through these slumps once in awhile and just sit in front of my computer not knowing what to write about.  I have had a good few weeks, with plenty of things to blog about but then one of these days comes along.  I look through emails, read through my Facebook feed and even do searches on the internet for ideas.  Sometimes it just doesn’t happen.  I am uninspired today.  Not sure why…

I am still doing my Lenten “Acts of Kindness” each day and actually getting a lot of joy out of it!  It is fun to leave a special treat in a mailbox or on another teacher’s desk without them knowing.

Today at school, we continued to promote the Pay it Forward program by sharing the website with the faculty and a lot of the teachers took kindness cards so that they could also spread the kindness.  All great things,  but, I have written about all of this already!

My dad continued his tradition of sending us a bushel of oranges and grapefruits from his trip to Florida.  That was a nice treat to come home to this afternoon, but not enough to write an entire blog!

The more I think about it, my day, although far from perfect, had several moments of kindness and joy thrown in.  Maybe that should be a goal for everyone.  To find a few moments from their day, everyday –  even on the “bad” ones, to find a few instances that you are grateful for and for those we should find a reason to be inspired.

A RAK for me!

For Lent this year, I decided that I was going to do a Random Act of Kindness everyday for the entire Lenten period.  It is day 14 and I am still on track!   I have been trying to be anonymous when I do some of them – leaving little treats at work, for coworkers, so I am not sure of the reaction they are getting, but my hope is that it brightens the day of the person who receives it.

I have also brought some sweets and treats to friends.  Two of them were teachers at Viva Z, where I take classes.  Tonight, they took me completely by surprise when they gave me a bouquet of beautiful roses before class.  They told me it was a random act of kindness for me!  It made me feel so special.  That is my hope when I am giving out my own RAK everyday.  I hope that the person who gets one from me, knows that someone was thinking of them and that it makes them feel good and inspires them to do something kind for someone else in return.

This is the idea behind the project Roberta, (our school librarian) and I had when we began our Pay It Forward Program at school.  The kindness is already spreading!  There is a lot of excitement among the students and the parents seem to be responding positively.  It is so exciting watching the kindness grow!

Ash Wednesday

Today is Ash Wednesday.  The season of penance, reflection, and fasting to prepare for Easter Sunday.   I went to a service this afternoon to get ashes.  Ashes are placed on the forehead to remind us to “turn from sin.”  It should be a time to remind ourselves to be better people.  Lent is a season to change habits, do good for others and just be a good person.

Although Lent is thought by most to be 40 days long, it actually lasts for 46 days but the Sundays aren’t counted.  I  have never understood this.  As a child, I was taught that there were no “breaks” during lent. It was the full time from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.  When I was a kid, I gave up gum every single year.  Bubblegum was one of my favorite things so it was never easy.  As I got older it was chocolate, desserts or sweets. That always made my Easter basket filled with sweet goodies so much more rewarding on Easter morning!

Now, as an adult, although I do give up something most years, I also try to do something during Lent.  Last year, I did a purge.  I made myself get rid of, donate or throw away something everyday.  This year, I decided not to give anything up.  Instead, I am going to do 40 Random Acts of Kindness.  I am looking forward to coming up with some good ones. I did my first one today, anonymously.   Those are probably going to be the ones that are more fun.  It is not about being acknowledged for being kind, but just spreading the kindness in the hopes that the recipient will do the same.