The last couple of weeks have been so busy - my little girl had her tonsils and adenoids removed and I was working hard to get everyone ready for school. I've still practiced my acts of kindness every day, but haven't had the time to document everything. So, here's a quick, not-as-dolled-up-as-I-would-like list of what I've done:
Day 3 - I woke up early and got outside and cleaned our family van (my husband is the primary driver and uses it often for home-improvement projects). I vacuumed, scrubbed, wiped, you name it - the whole process took me three hours and it went from grimy and icky to shiny and pristine. And, it was all done before he woke up. I never mentioned to him how I had spent my morning and when he went to run an errand later in the day was very surprised by his clean van. It made him really happy and he's mentioned it several times since. :)
Day 4 - I wrote anonymous letters to a couple of sweet friends, letting them know how special they are and how much I appreciate them.
Day 5 - I drove with kindness. I know that may sound kind of hokey, but driving through rush hour in Utah is no walk in the park. I'll just leave it at that... This was the perfect day for it, too because I drove through an accident that had a rolled over truck on my left and a fire on my right (I know, right?!). I was super-courteous and my experience through the traffic accident was very easy because of it. And, it left me in an overall great mood for the day - it's amazing how much driving stress is our own fault.
Day 6 - I set aside special time to play with my daughter. She hadn't been feeling well and her most favorite thing in the world is hanging out with me. I was glad to do it. I really should do it more often.
Day 7 - I left a Dt. Coke for a friend who had been out for an entire week and was sure to have a stressful full day back to work.
Day 8 - I donated school supplies to a local organization that was providing the supplies to under-privileged children in our area.
Day 9 - I smiled at everyone I passed. I often get discouraged by the lack of smiling here. I grew up in Texas where, when you smile, the person you smile at smiles back (or smiles at you first). I'm kind of spoiled in the way I expect everyone to be happy to see everyone. Here in Utah, it's a little different. I have often smiled at people and gotten the "I wish you would die," look. I try to remind myself that what they are giving has nothing to do with me, but it's still not pleasant. So, I went out of my way to smile at everyone - to pass on the cheer.
Day 10 - A little different - it was a kindness to the sad animals who never get played with at PetSmart. I took my kids - who LOVE animals - to play with the kitties. We held a few and the kids played with all of them and the kitties really, really appreciated it.
Day 11 - I left an encouraging note for a friend who looked like she was having a rough day.
Day 12 - I surprised my kids with a trip to their favorite ice cream shop for an after-the-first-day-of-school treat. They LOVED it and were so happy to spend some time there - it gave us a great opportunity to talk about their first day (and the owner gave them free waffle crisps - it pays to be cute!).
Phew! Caught up! In other news, my husband and I will be starting a Biggest Loser challenge (with real money involved - talk about incentive!) on Sunday. Any pointers out there? I want to win this baby!!
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Friday, August 16, 2013
The Blog is Back
This last year has had its share of ups and downs and, frankly, when I experience stress my mind gets muddled and I just can't write. That is not to say that the stress has gone away my any means, but I'm learning how to manage it and have so much to say.
I really can't remember the last time I really posted on this blog prior to my 365 days of kindness posts. I think there was one that was filled with vague frustrations. Those frustrations that I was experiencing were the knowledge of a layoff that I would mostly likely (and ultimately was) be victim of. I had a job that I loved. I didn't think there was another job out there better suited for me. It involved all of the things that I loved to do, was close to home, paid exceptionally well, and I was surrounded by fantastic people. But, ultimately, they had to cut corners to keep themselves afloat and an Internal Communication Specialist is kind of an accessory position. I was like a nice pair of earrings. I made the company I worked for look pretty, but when it came down to it, they could survive without me (my position still does not exist at my previous employer).
The day I found out that I was ultimately laid off was a couple of weeks before Christmas. In fact, it was my kids' last day of school before Christmas break. Not the best timing, really. I was devastated and allowed to go home early that day. When I got home, I turned on the news and saw the most horrifying thing that I could imagine (actually, I had never in my life imagined anything of the like ever happening). You see, the day I was laid off and sent home early was the same day as the Sandy Hook tragedy. I cried and I cried and I cried. I was no longer upset about losing my fantastic job. I cried for those sweet children and more so for their parents. I felt their pain and prayed that I would never have to experience anything of the sort. I still pray for those parents. I learned such a lesson that day. Jobs will come and go, but my babies are my life.
Because of the nature of my layoff, I was able to enjoy some time at home on unemployment and soaked up that sweet time with my little ones. It wasn't too long before I found my new job, which felt like a perfect fit from the moment I walked in for my first interview. I work as a Marketing Coordinator in a hospital in a neighboring city. I still do a lot of internal communication, which I love, but am also able to play around with social media a lot, which has become a surprising passion of mine. I Facebook and tweet and blog (here's my favorite) and get paid to do it.
So, now I'm back, and so happy to be actively blogging again. I have so much to say. I want to reach out and hug all of the working moms out there. I never ever thought that I would be working mom. When I went back to work, the original plan was for it to be a temporary thing. Well, it's not. And, that's what works for our family. My husband and I are able to work together as team and care for our home and children together. They are never neglected. I want to talk about what I've learned about body image and dieting and intuitive eating. I want to talk about an AMAZING book I have been blessed to have read - Wife for Life - and its even more amazing author, whom I've been blessed to communicate with personally and learn directly from. I want to talk about my daily adventures. About my sweet family. About things that make me laugh. About new perspectives. I learn through writing things out. In the end, I don't think I really care if anyone reads this. Now, my vanity sincerely hopes someone will - if they can learn something from what I have to say, great! But, what I'm really going for here is to learn something myself - to improve the person I am through my own insights and to discover who I really can be as I unfold each layer of my thoughts and little moments of inspiration.
I really can't remember the last time I really posted on this blog prior to my 365 days of kindness posts. I think there was one that was filled with vague frustrations. Those frustrations that I was experiencing were the knowledge of a layoff that I would mostly likely (and ultimately was) be victim of. I had a job that I loved. I didn't think there was another job out there better suited for me. It involved all of the things that I loved to do, was close to home, paid exceptionally well, and I was surrounded by fantastic people. But, ultimately, they had to cut corners to keep themselves afloat and an Internal Communication Specialist is kind of an accessory position. I was like a nice pair of earrings. I made the company I worked for look pretty, but when it came down to it, they could survive without me (my position still does not exist at my previous employer).
The day I found out that I was ultimately laid off was a couple of weeks before Christmas. In fact, it was my kids' last day of school before Christmas break. Not the best timing, really. I was devastated and allowed to go home early that day. When I got home, I turned on the news and saw the most horrifying thing that I could imagine (actually, I had never in my life imagined anything of the like ever happening). You see, the day I was laid off and sent home early was the same day as the Sandy Hook tragedy. I cried and I cried and I cried. I was no longer upset about losing my fantastic job. I cried for those sweet children and more so for their parents. I felt their pain and prayed that I would never have to experience anything of the sort. I still pray for those parents. I learned such a lesson that day. Jobs will come and go, but my babies are my life.
Because of the nature of my layoff, I was able to enjoy some time at home on unemployment and soaked up that sweet time with my little ones. It wasn't too long before I found my new job, which felt like a perfect fit from the moment I walked in for my first interview. I work as a Marketing Coordinator in a hospital in a neighboring city. I still do a lot of internal communication, which I love, but am also able to play around with social media a lot, which has become a surprising passion of mine. I Facebook and tweet and blog (here's my favorite) and get paid to do it.
So, now I'm back, and so happy to be actively blogging again. I have so much to say. I want to reach out and hug all of the working moms out there. I never ever thought that I would be working mom. When I went back to work, the original plan was for it to be a temporary thing. Well, it's not. And, that's what works for our family. My husband and I are able to work together as team and care for our home and children together. They are never neglected. I want to talk about what I've learned about body image and dieting and intuitive eating. I want to talk about an AMAZING book I have been blessed to have read - Wife for Life - and its even more amazing author, whom I've been blessed to communicate with personally and learn directly from. I want to talk about my daily adventures. About my sweet family. About things that make me laugh. About new perspectives. I learn through writing things out. In the end, I don't think I really care if anyone reads this. Now, my vanity sincerely hopes someone will - if they can learn something from what I have to say, great! But, what I'm really going for here is to learn something myself - to improve the person I am through my own insights and to discover who I really can be as I unfold each layer of my thoughts and little moments of inspiration.
365 Days of Kindness - Day Two
Today's little act of kindness occurred at Old Navy and was so cool! I took my kids with me so we could exchange a few things and get a few more. My kids always beg for a quarter to get a ball from one of their ball machines, so I told them that we were going to put a quarter in the machine for someone else - and they loved the idea.
We moved on to look at some shoes close by and almost immediately heard a little one begging for a ball. An entire family headed for the ball machine and there was immediate confusion, "There's already a quarter in it." "Does it belong to someone else?" "What do we do?" Then the dad picked up the note I left behind and read it to his kids. (This entire time I'm trying to act like I'm not paying attention, pointing several different items out to my daughter, but really listening.)
The next thing that happened just made my day. The dad walked over to my son and gave him a quarter and handed me the note and said, "Someone left this in the ball machine. I wanted to pass the favor along." Such a great lesson for my children. They gave selflessly and had an almost immediate return. Of course, it won't always happen this way, but what a great thing for them to see on their first attempt of random kindness.
I did, in turn, put another quarter back along with the note. And, the best part was that as we got home and put their new school clothes away they weren't wrapped up in their new things, they wondered with excitement whether or not someone had gotten the second quarter with the note.
We moved on to look at some shoes close by and almost immediately heard a little one begging for a ball. An entire family headed for the ball machine and there was immediate confusion, "There's already a quarter in it." "Does it belong to someone else?" "What do we do?" Then the dad picked up the note I left behind and read it to his kids. (This entire time I'm trying to act like I'm not paying attention, pointing several different items out to my daughter, but really listening.)
The next thing that happened just made my day. The dad walked over to my son and gave him a quarter and handed me the note and said, "Someone left this in the ball machine. I wanted to pass the favor along." Such a great lesson for my children. They gave selflessly and had an almost immediate return. Of course, it won't always happen this way, but what a great thing for them to see on their first attempt of random kindness.
I did, in turn, put another quarter back along with the note. And, the best part was that as we got home and put their new school clothes away they weren't wrapped up in their new things, they wondered with excitement whether or not someone had gotten the second quarter with the note.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
365 Days of Kindness
So, today I was feeling down - really down. I thought and thought and thought about what I could do to cheer myself up and finally came to the conclusion that the best way for me to be happier is to stop thinking about myself...
"OK," I thought, "I'll practice 30 days of random acts of kindness," and felt very satisfied. "Why stop at 30?" a little voice asked me. "If you really want to make a change, why don't you go for 365 days of kindness?" I couldn't come up with a good reason not to. So, here I go!
In an effort to better myself and make a bunch of people randomly happy, I am going to practice an act of kindness every day for 365 days and document each one here. (They won't be random - I'm a planner, can't do things l8ike this off the cuff, you know.)
So, I sat down during my lunch break and made a plan. "I'll start tomorrow," I thought. "Why wait for tomorrow? Start today!" That pesky voice was back. And, again, I had no good answer, so I started today.
My first random act was actually inspired by something that happened to my husband. He found a dollar bill taped to the vending machine for him to use. He was delighted. And, it was a quick, simple start to my year of kindness, so why not?
"OK," I thought, "I'll practice 30 days of random acts of kindness," and felt very satisfied. "Why stop at 30?" a little voice asked me. "If you really want to make a change, why don't you go for 365 days of kindness?" I couldn't come up with a good reason not to. So, here I go!
In an effort to better myself and make a bunch of people randomly happy, I am going to practice an act of kindness every day for 365 days and document each one here. (They won't be random - I'm a planner, can't do things l8ike this off the cuff, you know.)
So, I sat down during my lunch break and made a plan. "I'll start tomorrow," I thought. "Why wait for tomorrow? Start today!" That pesky voice was back. And, again, I had no good answer, so I started today.
My first random act was actually inspired by something that happened to my husband. He found a dollar bill taped to the vending machine for him to use. He was delighted. And, it was a quick, simple start to my year of kindness, so why not?
Here's to the start of a project that I hope will be life-changing... and to cheering up a lot of strangers. :)
BTW - I got that super-nifty printable HERE.
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