Oh, and my husband found a job. We both are working slobs enduring this economy. I still enjoy performing random acts of kindness. There is nothing like getting outside of yourself and doing something for someone else without any expectation of return. Giving is the greatest gift you can give to yourself even when you feel you have nothing to give. You always have something to give even if it is just a smile.

I especially think that the way things are nowadays, it is important. A simple pebble of kindness can make quite a wave.

Now is a time to reach out, even when you don’t know that you can. Charity is everywhere. It doesn’t have to be money. A smile, a gesture. As this site tries to show, there are many ways to reach out and put a smile on someone’s face, and sometimes all it takes…is that smile.

The economy is rotten. My husband lost his job so we are working through it all. I also had a friend just get laid off today from his company as well. This is all mind boggling.

All I can say is do what you can for those going through this crisis. This is a time above all to reach out to others and keep the human spirit positive. I am not just saying it, I am living it. The future is uncertain, but I am positive. This is the best time to reach out. We are in crisis.

I have since removed the ability to leave comments and I am sorry for anyone that left comments that were in the hold. I had to delete them all to get the site back up. As always error of the few causes reprecussions for the rest.

I am not active on this blog anymore, life has kept me very busy since I finished my year of acts of kindness. I still continue on my quest, I just do not blog about it as I did. I still hope sometime in the future time will permit me to expand this site more, but unfortunately the economy has hit my family like it has many, and my time has to be devoted elsewhere.

Kindness is everywhere. I am a true believer of it.

If you want to contact me contact me directly through the site instead. I appreciate it.

Meanwhile, I am currently working with people at work to inspire kindness, through a MAD money time
(Make a Difference), and also challenging them with Pay It Forward bracelets.

I haven’t stopped, I just haven’t had a lot of time…since I posted, I have remarried, moved and even am working at a new job, so yes my life has been busy, but my heart is EXACTLY in the same place. Now I just have to figure out how to make it all fit in my time schedule.

I vanished after my completion of this project, but I have seen that so many people still visit here. I realized how happy I was when I worked on this…..so yup I am back.

It will take some time to get things all up to date, so I hope people are patient. I have decided that even if one person visits here that is well worth it. So yes, I am back to encouraging people to be kind. Am I back to the one act a day? no…that was an experiment which proved to be an amazing experience. Now I am back to promote kindness to to others on all levels. I hope people accept this change. Guess we will see. I am not sure exactly how I am going to direct things but that makes it fun and exciting right?

Now go and do something nice for someone…even if it means simply smiling…a smile goes a long ways!

 http://thinkbeforeyoupink.org/Pages/CriticalQuestions.html

 Make your choices wisely!

Time to add to that jar on the counter raising money for breast cancer research, buy a pink bracelet. There are many options to think and do something this month…look around anywhere and you will find something.

Time to think PINK!

I have been happy to see people signing up, and I also get notes here and there from people. Unfortunately I haven’t updated my wordpress or added any spam plugins, so if people leave post comments they have most likely been getting lost in the 3,000 or so spam comments I often find when I go to moderate the comments. Hopefully and upgrade and some additional plugins will change that.

But yes life has been busy but pretty dang good. Had an amazing summer, the fall has been going pretty smooth. The kids are keeping me on my toes like always, and I have a wonderful man in my life who is helping me with all of that.

Acts of kindness still remains a part of my life. My 10yr old was as cute as could be the other day.

“Mom you are one of the kindest people I know.”

I looked at him suspiciously, “This is the same Mom who is yelling to have rooms cleaned, shoes put up, trash taken out. Are you sure you mean me?”

“Thats different. That is parent stuff. You have to do that so we don’t grow up to go to jail. Besides that you are the kindest. ”

He then suprised me the next morning by packing a lunch for me for work.. pudding pack and all!

Yesterday was a stress filled day. My daughter woke up with very strained breathing, so we hopped from the Urgent Care to the ER and spent hours at both. Luckily it came to be she had croup and nothing that some medicine couldn’t help. It was actually odd, because she is 8 and that is a bit old for getting croup.

So yes, she and I were worn out when we went to drug store to pick up her medicine. We were told it would be about 30 minutes, so we decided to go into the grocery store to get some stuff. We ended up filling a cart practically. What I hadn’t thought about when we walked in and started shopping was that I parked the car for the drug store not the grocery store. So we had to trek it to the car. After we unloaded the cart, I looked around to where the closest cart drop spot was. There wasn’t one. So I was about to take it back to the store when a man suddenly appeared offering to take it back for us. I am sure it seemed simple to him at the moment, but to me right then that was wonderful.

That act of kindness really made my day! So shopping cart stranger Thank you very much!

I have learned so much and I honestly do believe that the good that has happened in my life has come from my attention to being positive and reaching outside of myself.

I have had a fantastic journey in all of this. I didn’t end as fantastic as I started, because I started in one stage of life and ended in another. (I started when my kids were not living with me and ended with them living with me). Suddenly I had no free time, my attitude didn’t change, but as a single mom with three children, I didn’t have the time I had originally to devote to this site. I found myself still persuing my goal but with very little time to keep the site up to date. I became frustrated. Then I encountered times I doubted myself and this project. 

Eventually, my actions became more of an evolution of teaching…and my devotion was in sharing what I had learned with my kids -  more attention on sharing the giving with my kids than devoting time to the site. When you start doing this, you want to share, and for me that came in wanting to share with my kids…mostly through example. I don’t believe in making anyone do anything……but to inspire through example. I can’t think of any belief I was forced to accept that I took on freely, but I found many things in life that I pursued through being inspired.

When I see my kids getting awards for turning found money in, when I see my kids joining causes to support charity, I know my actions are doing something good. Especially since none of it has come from prompting from me. They, at their young ages have just felt the desire to do these things all on their own. Is it through my example? Maybe not. Kids are inherently giving and caring. But I do know they do pick up on it, from their comments. My 9yr old is very proud of this site, and always gives suggestions of things I might want to do.

I suppose I failed in my initial goal of recording everything I did original goal ( yes idealistic). But I do believe I also surpassed it in having it become a part of my life without thinking. I slowed my life down from the “Me! Me! Me!”which this world pushes at us and became someone that paused to look around at those around me and think. I slowed down to notice. I always cared, but slowing down I was able to really see and feel where I fit in, and how even the smallest act does mean something. We all make an impact even in what may seem as a small way. What may seem small to one…may be HUGE to another. Don’t ever take it for granted.

What I have learned and experienced can’t be summed up in a blog, especially since I became so lax in recording what transpired with many of my acts of kindness. It is honestly hard to sum up in words ( but eventually I will try).

What I can say…is … that it is something everyone should try and the rewards are plentiful. What you learn about yourself alone should be motivation. So I do dare everyone to try……..reach out….just start.

Dare…..to be

 

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