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 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 Alex’s
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 friend’s
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 person’s
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
friend’s
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 people’s
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 grandmother’s
golf clubs
38.
Put
quarters in washer machines at the Laundromat
39.
Picked up trash, in the park
40.
Bought
dog treats for neighbor’s
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 people’s
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 Children’s
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 girl’s
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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