"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted", Aesop
I didn’t realize until just now, that today was “Random Acts of Kindness Day.” I guess I don’t think there should be only one day for this. They should be carried out everyday. Random acts of kindness don’t have to cost a thing. They might not even always be noticed by others – but you will know because “no act of kindness , no matter how small, is every wasted” Aesop.
Today, I got a bit sad and even disappointed with myself when I realized just how long it has been since I have actually written. I went to our public library, where I met with the head librarian of the children’s room. Months ago, we had talked about starting a program this summer that could encourage kindness and paying it forward.
We both seemed to have lost track of time and finally got a chance to meet this afternoon. She introduced me to another librarian there and when she began to tell her about my kindness blog, I realized just how far off track I had fallen. Writing everyday, gave me structure and routine. I did it even when I had little to say. Giving myself some slack has made me way too relaxed and although I have been very busy with school and helping DJ get ready for graduation and prepared for college, I felt a little badly about it today. Guilty even. A lot has happened in these weeks where I didn’t write. Nothing life changing for us, nothing catastrophic – but we’ve been ever so busy.
There was a weapon brought to Drew AND DJ’s school last week and I still haven’t been able to comprehend just what a tragedy it could have been. This might have to be a blog in itself – when I am ready to think about it more clearly.
This is a month I should be writing! A month to remember all of the firsts in DJ’s life with graduation and college awaiting him. A month where we lost a very important member of our community to brain cancer. A month where a good friend of ours was diagnosed with breast cancer.
I have decided to take a class and see if I am ready to pursue my Masters Degree. If it goes smoothly, I will be busier than I already am, but the result will be worth it! I had my best month yet with my chloe and isabel jewelry business and if I can keep that up – I can help to pay for some courses!!
Yesterday a ladybug landed on me while I was driving. I know to some people that is considered to be lucky. The first thing I thought of when it landed was how how I’d incorporate it into my blog. So many little things so many big things….I am going to make another attempt at it.
I need to be writing – maybe not everyday, but I need to write. It grounds me, centers me and keeps me focused.
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.
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/
My Lenten “sacrifice” this year was to do a Random Act of Kindness everyday. I should not say it is a sacrifice because I have been having so much fun leaving little treats for my coworkers. I don’t sign who they are from, I just place it on their desk or in their mailbox each morning. A few days ago, there was something in my own mailbox and I have been seeing little treats in other mailboxes as well so someone else…or maybe a few others are doing the same thing! The students are talking about it with their own RAK’s and sharing their ideas of paying it forward.
Right now at our school there is some sort of outbreak of illness going around and a large number of students have been out of school for the week. Our school nurse has been busier than ever. We joked that she needs one of those, “take a number” machines they have at deli counters with the amount of kids showing up at her door! Hopefully, whatever it is that is going around ends quickly. This is one thing spreading around the building that I hope ends soon!!
As for the kindness, I hope that it becomes even more contagious and continues to spread throughout the community because the more massive it gets, the more amazing it will become!
Last night my boys went to the NJ Devils game with my dad. When they got home, DJ said, “Drew, are you going to tell mom what you did at the game tonight?” I replied, ‘Uhoh, what…” and DJ said, “No mom, it is good!” We all laughed and Drew got embarrassed and told me this story,
You know how I always go up to the glass for warm ups? Well, I went there tonight and I was hoping that a player would toss me a puck after practice. There was this kid standing near me who had special needs and he was wearing a Toronto jersey. He reminded me of that girl we saw at The Newark Bears Game. That was the kind of special needs he was. Well, he wanted a puck so badly but he didn’t get one and I guess he got tired of standing there because he and his dad went back to their seats. Then, I got a puck and I went over and gave it to him instead of keeping it. The kid was so happy! Later, the dad and the kid came over to our seats and thanked me. At the end of the game, I went up to where the referees leave the ice and NJ, (the Devils mascot,) tossed me the game puck!
I was so proud I nearly cried. DJ was just nodding his head the whole time telling me that really happened. My dad told me how proud he was of him. I had to share it – I was so filled with joy that he had done such a generous thing. For anyone who knows him, he is a collector and giving up a puck was probably not the easiest thing for him!! I shared the story on Facebook before I left for work this morning. I got home this evening and found that there were just under 200 likes and almost 50 comments about it! Comments saying others were going to pay it forward today after reading it. Comments about how he is growing up into such a kind young man. Comments about how Dave and I “must be doing something right!”
He and I just read the comments together and he is embarrassed – self-conscious perhaps, but I can tell he is pleased with himself. It is so nice watching him grow into such a kind hearted boy. Many of the comments mentioned “great parenting.” I had great role models to follow, and now my children are following in those footsteps as well. We talk all the time about how easy it is to do the right thing and last night, Drew demonstrated that perfectly.
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!
This week, the librarian at our school and I launched a Pay it Forward Program. We are so excited about it. The idea behind it is that every child starts their very own chain of kindness. Each child has been given a laminated card. Each of these cards is numbered and has directions on how to spread kindness and watch it grow.
When a student does a Random Act of Kindness, we asked them to give the card to the recipient of the RAK. That person is asked to email us telling us about the RAK. We will add all of the emails to a website so that our students can watch their kindness spread. After emailing us, it is our hope that the recipient takes the card and does a RAK for another person, handing the card onto them. Thus, continuing the chain of kindness as they pay it forward to someone else and so on and so on…. Each card has a registration number on it so that the original card holder can follow it as it travels.
It is our hope that this project encourages positive acts that bring brightness to others, with the hope they will pass it on. We cannot wait to see how far the kindness will spread and for how long it will continue…
Apparently, February 17th was Random Acts of Kindness Day. An unofficial holiday celebrated around the world that encourages people to perform random acts of kindness. Not a day for fundraising or giving money, but just a day to celebrate kindness and doing kind things for another person for no reason at all.
Perhaps it slipped by me unnoticed because I believe that kindness should be celebrated everyday. Not one day a year – EVERYDAY. It is not hard. Over a year ago, when I began this blog, that was the whole idea behind it. Back then, just starting out, I was looking all over for stories of kindness. In the 14 months that I have been writing, I have realized that there really is no shortage of them. I find some nearly everyday.
There is no limit to what you can do. The easiest one, just smile. Not only will it make others happy, but it makes you happy too! Keep the kindness spreading!
I have to admit, I really do love a good snow day! Yesterday’s early dismissal wouldn’t count as a “good” snow day. We didn’t even all get in until after 3 o’clock so the day was nearly over. I wound up cooking a huge pot of pulled chicken which is a good dinner for our family since each of us could eat it the way that we wanted to. Other than that, we did not get much done. We couldn’t even get a head start on the shoveling because it was snowing so hard! There just was no point.
For me, a good snow day is one that is called the night before. No early morning phone call to wake us up. No need to set an alarm clock, no worrying about getting homework done since we already did it. A night where we can actually stay up late and watch a movie or play a game! Nowhere to rush to in the morning. Just a day where we could get up late, make waffles and get things done around the house! Staying in pajamas not having to get dressed to go out… It all sounds luxurious and self-indulgent!
For me the worst part of a snow day ironically is the snow! Sure it’s pretty when it is falling but cleaning it all up is the worst! I love the silence and the beauty of the snow but I really hate being cold…and I am always cold! I bring a sweater with me wherever we go, even in the summer. My youngest son loves the snow. He and Dave were out in it for hours today snowboarding on the big hill in town. Sledding was never a big thrill for me. Growing up, our house had a big hill in the front yard, but I think it took up more time to bundle up enough to go out and play, than it did to take the few rides down the hill before I’d be too cold and want to go back inside! I I have tried skiing, but for a girl who really dislikes the cold, I just did not find it to be much fun.
In reality though, all those thoughts of a relaxing, “never get out of my pajamas snow day,” didn’t really happen today. Even though the kids slept in, Emmy Lou woke us up early and since the snow was too deep for her to walk in, Dave had to go out and shovel a path while I carried her out to the street for her walk. I think she just might dislike the snow as much as I do! So much for staying in our pajamas! Since we were already outside we just decided to start shoveling the loooooong driveway. Fortunately, despite the snow being so deep, it was light so between us and the neighbor we got it done fairly quickly… and surprising us in another random act of kindness our other neighbor came over and let us borrow his snow-blower for the biggest part of the driveway. That made the job go a little more quickly than normal. We had the job done in less than two hours and by the time we went inside, Drew was awake and we did have those waffles for breakfast. A nice hot breakfast is something we don’t get to have often on school days, so that was a nice treat.
I decided to make a big pot of Braciole for dinner and invite my dad and brothers. Unfortunately we did not have all of the ingredients so I decided to brave the roads and go to the grocery store, (so much for not leaving the house!) Before I left I went on line and I saw that there was a class at Viva Z. I had assumed they’d be canceled. I never get to a morning exercise class and since I was going out anyway, I decided I would go. Another advantage having the day off!
The roads were much better than I expected them to be. On a sad note, I had TWO wakes that I needed to get to this afternoon. If we had been at school, I might not have been able to get to both of them. The snow day made it so that I could get to them both. After going through two of them ourselves last year, I know how important it is to the family to be there so I was glad to be able to have gotten to the both of them.
Even though the snow day that I had envisioned in my mind… staying home in my pajamas, snuggled under a blanket on the couch, watching senseless TV all day long…. didn’t turn out the way it was supposed to, it actually turned into a really productive day off. Now….we just cannot have anymore before it cuts into our scheduled days off! Even though it is only January, I am ready for the snow to be over. I wonder if we can get through the next few months without anymore!?!?
A Project for Kindness 