Random Acts of Kindness - The Report

I will kick off the morning by sharing a random act of kindness.

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I don't have anything earth shaking to report for my random act of kindness challenge. I realized after I posted on Monday, I picked the worst day for me. Mondays are laundry/cleaning days, and I don’t really go out. So, I had to think of stuff I could do at home, as I did the laundry, but I carried it over to yesterday too.

The Report

1. To be more prepared for when I see people asking for money, I put five granola bars in the glove box. I can now easily reach over and get one out and hand it out of my window when I pass someone.

2. I made John’s breakfast (nothing fancy, just toast on the go), and packed his lunch. I did add a few chocolates to make it a little more special. I knew he’d appreciate those.

3. I also sent him an email at work to tell him thank you for being such a good husband and father. I need to do that more.

4. As I sent my email, Trevan was next to me, and I asked him if he wanted to send Daddy an email at work. Here is what Trevan sent.

"I want to give him a robot."

"I want him to have some more clocks." (John loved this one because the kids fight over who gets to play with his alarm clock in the mornings.)

"I want him to have more clothes in his drawers."

TREVAN

(and he typed his own name)

John called laughing. So, I think we brightened his day a little bit.

5. After my spin class I ran to get as many people's wipes that I could.

6. I took extra time out to read Trevan some books and hold Mallary a little longer than I normally would.

7. When I went out, I tried to remember to smile at the people I passed, but that is a hard one! After like two smiles, I completely forgot.

8. MY FAVORITE: I try to teach Trevan about serving and making other people happy. We found out that one of Trevan's little friends was sick, so while we were at the store I asked Trevan if he would like to pick out a balloon and a piece of candy to take to her to help her feel better. He wanted to get her a Cars or a Spiderman balloon, (I had to remind him it was for her and not him) and then he settled on a spongebob balloon and reeses cups. Then, on the way to their house, all of a sudden Trevan goes, “I don’t feel good...” Worried, I turned around to see a frown on his face, and then he finishes with, “I need someone to give me a balloon.” He followed with his mischievous little smile.

It was absolutely adorable watching him run up their driveway and ring the doorbell. He told her, "I hope you feel better soon." (After a few prompts from me in the car saying, "tell her.") It was so cute to see his big smile as he ran back down the driveway and got into the car.

I asked him how he thought that made her feel, and he answered in his sing songy voice, "Happy!" "How did it make you feel?" I asked. He replied again in his sing songy voice, "Happy!" After about a minute he added, "But, I still want someone to give me a balloon."

He told me he wanted to do something for another one of his friends. I told him to think of something that didn’t cost any money. He said, “I could give him one of my Star Wars toys.”

"Are you sure you want to do that?" I asked.

“Yes!”

“Wouldn’t that make you sad?” I had to ask just to be sure.

He quickly responded in his squealy voice, “No, because he would be so happy!”

Like I said, I didn't move any mountains, and honestly, I think I did myself the greatest service. Since I spent most of the day thinking of how I could serve someone else, I didn’t dwell on things that were bothering me. I wasn't just thinking about me and how I wasn't able to get anything done, and what was getting on my nerves, and having to change another disgusting diaper, etc. I found that I was more patient with my kids too. It was hard for me to get really upset about something where just seconds before I was thinking of how I could make someone else happy. All day I just kept thinking of ways I could serve someone else, and the person I really ended up helping was myself.