Monday, November 11, 2013

“No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” -Aesop


It’s been a long while since I’ve had time to sit down and write.  Even though November is here and we are deep into the fall season, I want to catch you up and tell you about a special summer endeavor that was near and dear to my heart.  As I wrote back at the beginning of the summer, I implemented the idea of completing 77 Random Acts of Kindness, with my daughter during her 77 days of summer vacation.  I’m proud to say we followed through and completed all 77 days.
My goal in doing this was to teach my eight year old that you don’t need a reason to help people, to see how good it feels to give without getting anything back and to be a positive influence in the world.  I do believe it was a success.  Completing random acts of kindness is definitely not a new idea or even my idea; I will admit I stole this idea from the internet and made it my own.  The idea however was new to my daughter and that is all that mattered.   I loved seeing her face when she was paying it forward and doing something good for others.  I was over joyed when she would come up with ideas on her own.   After a week or so of doing our acts of kindness, it become part of her day, part of her routine, just like brushing her teeth.  It was music to my ears to hear, “What’s our random act of kindness for today?”  I would say that getting an eight year old to utter those words and make giving back a part of their day, a complete SUCCESS.
Aesop said, “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.”     Even if our random acts didn’t impact any other human being, they didn’t go to waste.  I taught a very important life lesson, to my child, and I’m sure we did some good for others along the way too.  I feel that teaching the importance of thinking of anything other than ourselves is a lesson that should be taught to each and every child in the world, (scratch that) every adult too.   We live in a world now where children receive praise and get rewarded for EVERYTHING.  It’s great for self-esteem but  the “everyone’s a WINNER” idea, in my opinion, sets kids up to not only think that they don’t have to work hard, to get the reward, it teaches kids that you should get rewarded for everything you participate in.  Girl Scouts have prizes for selling Girl Scout cookies, because selling them to raise money for their troop isn’t enough.  “What do I get?”  My daughter comes home with candy attached to her schoolwork.  REALLY?  What message does this teach kids?  I get it, the teacher wants to reward her for doing well but shouldn’t they just be expected to do their best without the candy?  “What do I get?”  Our society is teaching kids to always have their hands out and wonder what they will be getting, instead of teaching them to just do things because they should.   We are raising kids to think life is all about them and I am no different, we all are doing it.   My favorite part about our “77 Random Acts of Kindness” was doing something good and NOT being able to stick around to reap the REWARD!  My daughter would say, can’t we stick around and see who gets this or I want to see what happens, and I would always say NO.  These acts were meant to be completely selfless.  We received nothing for doing them except for the best feeling in the world and knowing we were, maybe just maybe, making someone’s day a little better.  Imagine our world if we all took the time to teach this idea to our children.  The sun would shine a little brighter and maybe those kids would turn into adults who realize it’s not all about what I can get out of the world.
So I’m happy to say that my 77 random of kindness was a success.  I believe that no matter how small an act we completed, something amazing came from it.   I like to think we were like a pebble being thrown into a puddle; we’ll never know how far our ripples might have reached.  I hope that we inspire you to go out and leave the world a little better than you found it.  Take the time to teach your children that it is important to do good deeds with no reward at the end.  Pay it forward or do something random that brightens someone’s day.  I promise it will brighten yours too.  You don’t need a reason to help people; good deeds are FREE and are NEVER wasted,

So here they are, one of the best experiences I have been able to have with my daughter, our
 
77 Random Acts of Kindness

1.      
Made breakfast in bed for a loved one
2.       Took shorter showers to conserve water
3.       Started  a piggy bank for charity or good cause
4.       Emailed someone a list of 10 reasons why you love them
5.       Made a meal for someone
6.       Made and sent postcards to sick children in the hospital
7.       Bought ice cream for a friend
8.       Left laundry detergent at the Laundromat for customers who might need it
9.       Donated money to Alexs Lemonade Stand
10.   Left quarters at an arcade for random kids to use
11.   Let someone in front of me in line
12.   Put change in candy machines
13.   Donated money to the SPCA
14.   Put a gift in our mailbox for our mail carrier thanking her
15.   Visited grandma in the nursing home brought her a lucky bamboo
16.   Taught someone something new today
17.   Wrote thank you letters
18.   Hugged our loved ones for no particular reason
19.   Lent a hand to someone that needed it.  Helped make and clean up dinner, at a friends house, when he needed help.
20.   Made a patriotic flag cake & shared it with family and friends
21.   Left money at the car wash for next car to enjoy free wash.
22.   Dropped off books  at our pediatric dentist office
23.   Cleaned out closets and donated 3 bags of clothes to smaller children
24.   Cheered on teammates
25.   Paid for the car behind me at McDonalds drive thru
26.   Left lottery tickets on random cars
27.   Fed another persons cat, while they are out of town
28.   Left coupons around the store, near products for others to use
29.   Donated stuff to the Salvation Army
30.   Watched friends kids for the day
31.   Left popcorn at the Redbox for movie renters to enjoy with a movie
32.   Left dollars in the toys section of the dollar store, in random places
33.   Returned other peoples shopping carts
34.   Handed out water to someone on a hot day
35.   Dropped a card in the mail for grandparents
36.   Left a new basketball at random playground
37.   Cleaned my grandmothers  golf clubs
38.   Put quarters in washer machines at the Laundromat
39.    Picked up trash, in the park
40.   Bought dog treats for neighbors dog
41.   Donated old bike to a friend
42.   Visited grandmother in the nursing home
43.   Left new toys with a free note, at a playground
44.   Helped friends move into their new house
45.   Signed up to coach youth soccer
46.   Left flowers & lottery tickets on a random car
47.   Gave friends a lift in our car for a long road trip
48.   Held the open the door for everyone today
49.   Took care of other peoples kids
50.   Cut down on our carbon footprint by riding our bikes everywhere on vacation.
51.   Smiled and said hello to EVERYONE today
52.   Made several positive comments on websites today
53.   Gave a Subway gift card to a cashier we liked
54.   Put a roll of pennies near a fountain with a sign that read Free Wishes
55.   Donated money to school supplies charity by rounding up to the dollar during a purchase
56.   Helped take care of my little cousin
57.   Refrained from all gossip and spoke positive of everyone today
58.   Visited family at the Childrens hospital
59.   Gave Blood
60.   Wrote a thank you letter to my aunt and grandparents for having me to their houses
61.   Ran for a charity
62.   Made a little girls day by donating a bag of shoes to her
63.   Took blankets, dog & cat food to an animal shelter
64.   Collected Box Tops for education
65.   Clicked for a cause  - http://nicethingstodo.net/freeclicksites.html
66.   Donated back to school supplies to the Boys and Girls club @ Wal-Mart
67.   Surprised my father by making him a lunch to take to work
68.   Emailed quotes and saying to friends &family, that made me think of them
69.   Left inspirational notes in different places
70.   Gave someone a boat ride
71.   No complaining today
72.   Complimented people today
73.   Made a special breakfast for my daughter & her friends
74.   Spent quality time with someone special....daddy/daughter time
75.   Gave someone a ride when they needed it
76.   Invited my parents to our house for a turkey dinner for no reason
77.   Had fun time with family & friends...perfect end of summer

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