Kindness

Some days I wake up and I just want to see something good online. Something positive, uplifting. There are many times when I use a status update for venting as do so many others. I just don't want to be the person that voices negativity all the time. I hope when you come to my blog you're looking for something happy and not expecting a complaint. I don't want to be that girl. 

Yesterday, I had a bad experience in the parking lot of a Target that I was quick to announce on facebook. In short, someone asked me for money and I gave her some even though I knew she was lying about why she needed it. What I didn't tell everyone is the other woman in the parking lot that helped me out when she saw a need...

I was carrying the boys and pushing my cart to the car (Do not ask me how, I do not know) when I heard a loud, scraping sound. It sounded like a car scraping another but it was much closer to me so I knew it was something I was doing. "Great", I thought, "I just broke half the items I bought." I looked down and a toy I had purchased for Cray K was stuck under my cart, seemingly bent and destroyed. I had just survived a Christmas shopping spree in a busy city with two children under two. K had just finished up his recent shrieking session as I paid and we'd made it out of the store alive. I was feeling good about my first journey out alone with both kids and then that happened. When the toy fell and became dislodged under the cart, I saw a lady cross over a few aisles to rush to my aid and help me pick it up and return it to a more secure place in the cart. She also added, "This happens to me all the time" in an effort to make me feel a little better about not having it all together.

There are nice people everywhere, too. Sometimes it's hard to remember that especially in the midst of all the terrible things we see on the news and social networking. But when something bad happens, there's always an individual or a group of people ready to step in and help in some way. Here are some happy things I've seen on the Internet lately:

Laura is donating 100% of her Scentsy revenue to Newtown, CT.

A local woman died of a bacterial infection just three days after delivering her daughter. There are two women who are gathering items such as diapers, wipes, etc. as well as money to help out her family in their time of need. Please let me know if you'd like to help and I'll put you in contact with the right people!

Let's all make it a point to notice kindness in our every day lives, shall we? 

Love,

Let's drop a bomb...

When is the last time you did something thoughtful for a total stranger? Aside from the blogging community, I can't think of a single thing that I've done recently for someone I don't know. How sad. The other day, I was reading a post from a young woman writing from London, England, who told of a girl shaking uncontrollably with tears streaming down her face. She was all alone. The blogger had the urge to go up and ask the girl if she needed a hug, to which she replied, "Yes!" I'm sure the troubled girl will always remember the kindness of that particular stranger that day.

I wonder if that is something I could do. I think about it and all that comes to mind is being rejected with something like, "umm, no I don't need a hug, FREAK!" (haha) Why do we let our own insecurities come into play and get in the way of helping other people? Who cares if we get rejected? At least we tried, right? This week, I plan to go out of my way to touch a random person's life. Sure, at the end of their life it will be miniscule, probably not worth mentioning but I believe all those little things add up to something extrodinary. If enough people join in doing small acts of kindness, we can really have a large impact. I believe that. Which is why I used to buy coffee for the car behind me in line at Starbucks just so they might have a better day and then pass it on later. I think they did pass it on because I've received free coffee by doing so, too. It's just a couple extra bucks to make someone's world a happier place. Most random acts don't cost a thing, just a little compassion. This is the very reason I decided to join It Starts With Us. Each week, this gaggle of participants has a mission to accomplish. Each mission focuses on helping someone out and challenging ourselves to make our world a friendlier place. (Are you hugging trees yet or throwing up the peace sign? :) ) The program I enjoy most within the group is the "love bombs" we drop every week. This week we're focusing our efforts on a high school student who has been going through a rough time lately. If you want to participate without signing up, just visit her blog entry here and leave an encouraging comment. Let's let her see that there are people out there who don't even know her that care about what she's going through. I hope you'll participate, too! Let's drop a love bomb, it'll be fun!