Rachel's Kindness

Bloggers Unite challenges bloggers everywhere, on December 17th, to do something good offline — an act of kindness — and then post about it on their blogs. The Acts of Kindness bloggers unite challenge aims at putting a human face on bloggers who are responsible for so much good in the world. The goal is to expose their kindness and generosity as well as serve as an example to non-bloggers that volunteering for a charity, donating to a cause, or simply doing something kind for another person has a ripple effect around the world.

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I have been granted a world full of blessings... good health, a good job, great friends and most important of all, an amazing family. I have two beautiful daughters, both of whom remind me daily that God is good. Today, I take on the Bloggers Unite challenge by blogging not about myself, but about one of my greatest blessings in life, my beautiful little girl, Rachel.
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Technically, I'm not following the Bloggers Unite rules. I'm supposed to do the Act of Kindness today and then write about it... but the deeds Rachel has already done are too important to be overlooked, and I want to make sure she gets credit for her kindness, especially when it was done so generously and without prompting.
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Rachel is 4 years old. She's smarter than most 6 years olds... most 16 years old, too. She has an amazing memory and a desire to learn all things, all the time. But much more important than her brain, I think, is her great big heart.
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As a mom, there are so many things I try to teach my children, and as a mom, nothing could make me more proud than to watch Rachel living one of the most important lessons I've tried to teach her: Be kind to others and the world.
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Inspired by the good people at CoolPeopleCare, I decided to take on the Make a Difference Day challenge on October 27 by organizing a "get out, do good" event for my local community. For our event, we visited an assisted living community near our home. Along with some other volunteers, we gave "mini makeovers" to almost 20 women there. They had a great time being pampered, but even more fun watching the kids that we brought along with us. Rachel had such a great time with "the grandmas" that she asked to go back and visit again.
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On Thanksgiving Day, we spent some time in the afternoon sharing our family with the residents there who didn't have family close by for the holiday. My husband and I called a game of BINGO! while Rachel visited with her "grandma friends." The following weekend, Rachel and I helped decorate for the holidays, and Rachel refused to leave until each and every one of "her grandmas" had a hand drawn picture to hang in their room. Two weekends ago, Rachel patiently and meticulous helped me make holiday decorations, which we stopped by to "quickly drop off" this past weekend. Rachel, however, was unwilling to drop them off and leave. She wanted to hand one ornament out to each of the residents. She walked around the room, picking an ornament to match each person's outfit. Ms. Caroline was wearing green so she got a Christmas tree. Ms. Elsie was wearing blue, so she got a blue stocking. She gave each resident a hug and a smile and an ornament. They love to see her when she visits, and she loves them all right back.
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I'm not sure if Rachel really understands the magnitude of the difference she's making. I have lots of other stories about Rachel's big heart, her desire to help those less fortunate, and the beautiful examples of her kindness in action. The most amazing part, though, is that her motives are so pure. She knows that she's putting a smile on someone else's face, which in turn puts a smile on hers. And of course, all those smiles put a smile not only on my face, but also in my heart.
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So Rachel, my amazing, beautiful, selfless little girl... know that Mommy loves you and admires you and is more proud of you than you will ever know. If everyone in this world was even a fraction as kind and open and loving as you are, this world would be such a better place. Thank you for being so kind, so loving, and for making me so proud. Today and always, I love you!

Bloggers Unite in Acts of Kindness

The words here are not mine, they are taken from http://unite.blogcatalog.com/, but the words in this space on December 17 will be. If you have a blog, I encourage you to join this great cause. If you read a blog, I encourage you to pass this information on to that blogger.

"Bloggers Unite is an initiative designed to harness the power of the blogosphere to make the world a better place. By challenging bloggers to blog about a particular social cause on a single day, a single voice can be joined with thousands of others to help make a real positive difference; from raising awareness for cancer, to an effort to better education systems or support 3rd world countries."

The next event will take place on Monday, December 17:

"On Monday, December 17th, post about some act of kindness you performed — making a donation, helping someone move, volunteering your time, or even something as simple as paying someone an unexpected compliment — and then share your story with a post, photo, or video on your blog. It's easy to do good so please join us. This is our chance to show the world that bloggers have heart online and off. Every post will count!"

Be sure to register at http://unite.blogcatalog.com/ to be eligible to win awards and prizes based on your post!

Be Thankful

It's that time of year again when everyone starts talking about thankfulness and blessings. I love the opportunity to stop and reflect on all that I have, all I've been blessed with, especially since the day-to-day can often get in the way of remembering these things as often as I should.

A while back, I blogged about some of my blessings in life and how I was trying hard to remember to be thankful for them every single day, not just taking life for granted. Luanne starting doing that on her blog, with a daily list of gifts she's thankful for. For the entire month of November, Julie has blogged every day about 5 things she's thankful for. What great inspirations, both of them!

This morning I decided to randomly look up a website, just to see what would be there: www.BeThankful.com. It's a quaint little site with some wonderful thoughts and nice reminders, definitely check it out. On the main page I found this quote, which I like very much:

"If the only prayer you ever say in your life is thank you,

it will be enough." (Meister Eckhart)

I'm going to pin this quote up next to my computer, in my car, and on my fridge. May it remind me today, tomorrow, and always, to say THANK YOU for my life, for my blessings, for my gifts. But more than that, let me also remember to spread my blessings to others, even if only in very small ways, and to instill this same idea in my children. On Thanksgiving, my husband, 2 daughters and I will spend a few hours in the afternoon playing BINGO and board games with residents at an assisted living facility near our home. On Thanksgiving Day (and always, really!) I want my family not only to remember how much we have to be thankful for, but to also see how important (and easy) it is to share our blessings with other people. This year, we'll share "family togetherness" with people who don't have their family close for the holiday. Sure, playing BINGO might not change the world, but I already know that Grandma Caroline will be smiling for days after we leave because she "got to hug her little redhead" again. Sometimes, what's a little thing to you makes a big difference to someone else.

Here are just 3 of the things I'm especially thankful for this year. Of course, my family, our health, gainful employment, all those "standard" things apply. Below are three things I didn't have last year at this time, but will be thankful for every day from here on out:

1. Balance! Though I'd definitely like to work less, commute less, stress less and be with my family more, I have to say that I've struck a pretty decent balance in the last many months. My stress level is not high, my workload (at the office) is not too much, and I feel like family life is pretty good. Sure, I have my days... but no one thing is completely out of whack for any real period of time, and for this I am thankful!
2. Doing Good. For years and years I've talked about the "difference" I want to make in the world... volunteer work, charitable donations, starting a business or a website to promote either of these things. And, over the years, I have done a little bit of each. However, never as much as I think I should. This year, I reconnected with a great group called CoolPeopleCare, who reminded me that sometimes it's the little things that make a big difference. With this in mind, I've started a Making a Difference group in my housing development (complete with website and volunteer activities for all ages). I've gotten my family involved in "doing good" and this year I'm actually doing and not talking about doing.
3. Being a non-smoker. I was a pack/day smoker for the better part of 13 years. I have not had a cigarette since September 13. For this, I am thankful!

This year, as you're sitting down for your holiday meal, be thankful not only for the food you're about to eat and the people you're about to share it with... but also all those other daily blessings you have that you might not always remember to count. May they be endless on Thanksgiving and always!

Girlfriends Get It

There are some things in life that just cannot be explained to a man. They will just never make sense, no matter how obvious they appear to you, the woman. And it's not because there's a "right" or a "wrong," but because -- when it comes to certain things -- they just can't think like we do.

Several months ago, my friends Heather and Joe were visiting from out of town. After dinner, Heather helped to clear the table, neatly stacking dishes in the sink as I put away leftovers. She said to me, "I'll wash them all by hand, but I will not load another woman's dishwasher." This made absolute, perfect sense to me, and I thanked her for her consideration. My husband, on the other hand, got a puzzled look and asked what any man would ask. "Why not?"

"Because," Heather said, "she'll just rearrange them all after I'm gone." You know what? She was right, and I love her for saving me the trouble!

Last month, my best friend from home came to visit for a few days, along with her husband and son. It's the first time she's been to my home in the 4 years we've lived in it. Of course, I made sure there were clean sheets on the guest bed and the bathroom was in order. I even bought some wine. But when she arrived, I told her "I did not clean my house for you." She told me she appreciated the compliment, and that was exactly why we'd been such good friends for so many years. Now tell me, how many men could really get that??

Last week, Luanne blogged about her Ratatouille party. She said in her post: I don't know why we are holding stuffed animals - except they were in the kitchen at the time of the picture. Luanne? Holding stuffed animals in pictures for no apparent reason will never require an explanation when it comes to girlfriends (or sisters or daughters, or pretty much any other women on the planet). Also, I'll have to find/post some of my own "matching PJs" pics 'cause you're right, everything's more fun with your matching PJs on!

Happiness....

.... is when the only thing bigger than the smile is the glasses.

.... is "going shopping" with your sis.

.... is knowing someone will always keep your spot warm for you.

.... is playing so hard that you can't even keep your eyes open until the end of the show.

.... is two happy little chickens in a basket.

October 27

October 27th... not only is it my 32nd birthday, it's the 17th Annual Make a Difference Day! Make A Difference Day is the most encompassing national day of helping others -- a celebration of neighbors helping neighbors.

Created by USA WEEKEND Magazine, Make A Difference Day is an annual event that takes place on the fourth Saturday of every October. Millions have participated. In 2005, 3 million people cared enough about their communities to volunteer on that day, accomplishing thousands of projects in hundreds of towns.

If you've got even 10 minutes to spare this weekend, check out the Make a Difference Day website for lots more info and great ways you can Make a Difference!

On Saturday, I've recruited some neighbors (along with my husband and kids) to spend time at an assisted living facility near our home. In the morning, we'll be giving the women mini-makeovers and probably singing karaoke. In the afternoon, we'll be calling a game of Bingo! In addition, we're collecting unused eyeglasses and cell phones, empty ink cartridges and canned goods to donate to organizations that can put them to good use.

If you do volunteer, please post a comment to let me know... I'll consider that my birthday gift :-)

Hooray for honesty!

Some will say there aren't many honest people left in this world, but today, I was blessed with several of them.

Around 10am, my mother-in-law called to say she got a phone call from someone looking for me, the woman left her phone # but wouldn't say what she was calling about. I called her back, and it was a woman who works at our local Goodwill store. Seems that someone had turned in a wallet that they'd found on the floor while shopping there, and in the wallet were credit cards with my name on them. The lady at Goodwill looked up the last name in the phone book and got my mother-in-law.

I knew this wallet was missing more than 18 months ago. No idea what happened... if I lost it, left it in an old purse, I just knew I couldn't find it. I knew what cards were in it, cancelled them all and periodically checked that there was no activity. No problems, thank goodness!

Today I went to Goodwill to pick up the wallet and would you believe that every single card was still there?? I thought maybe I'd left it in a purse I'd donated, but the woman at the store told me that the place I donate to ships it's donations to a store to the north, this was to the south. She said it wouldn't have ended up there. But somehow, my wallet ended up on the floor at Goodwill. An honest person picked it up and turned it in. And another honest lady tracked me down and saved it for me. Neither one of them took a single thing. Tell that one to the cynics!

Last time I was at my dermatologist, they told me my deductible was met, I only had to pay 15% of the fee. The woman did some quick punching on her calculator, gave me a total, and I wrote her a check... didn't bother to check the math. Today, I got a check for $12.33 from that office, with a hand-written note from the payment lady there, apologizing for her fat-fingered error on the calculator. Here was my refund. Granted, it was technically my money in the first place, but she found her mistake and got the money back to me within a few weeks, without me noticing or saying a word. How often does that happen?

Two honest people in one day? Both to my benefit? Some days, the little things aren't so little! Hooray for honesty!