Category: acts of kindness

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 5, 6, and 7

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Long weekends are weird when you’re quarantined.

Normally, I’m a big fan of long weekends…for obvious reasons. But the fact that I had this past Friday off from work just felt bizarre. I put a lot of pressure on myself to use the time off wisely and be super productive, but to be totally honest, I just…wasn’t. I got tired halfway through the day and did nothing but perform my best couch potato impression.

And I was disappointed in myself for being so lazy.

I’m trying to reconcile the compulsion to make good use of all my time in quarantine with the desire to lean into my feelings and allow myself to be down in the dumps over the whole situation. It’s hard to find a happy medium between the two. Luckily, though, my determination to complete 27 acts of kindness each day leading up to my 27th birthday does help me feel like I’m putting a small iota of goodness back into the world during a time that I feel so listless.

Plus, it was a special weekend: a holy weekend. It only felt right to celebrate the holiday (in part) by continuing my kindness acts…

27 Acts of Kindness_ Days 5, 6, and 7
Acts of kindness over Easter weekend carried a special meaning.

Friday, 4/10 – Act of Kindness #5: I decided to do an act of kindness that would benefit my parents, so I did a semi-detail of their cars. I say “semi” because it wasn’t the full detail that I wanted to give them; I’d planned on washing the cars, but the weather forecast prevented that from happening. But I still managed to vacuum the heck out of their cars’ interiors, as well as wipe down the windows and remove as much dust and dirt, in general, as possible from the seats and dashboards. This act of kindness was only half-fulfilled in my book…but at least the effort I put into it yielded great blood sugars, so it was technically a fairly successful act nonetheless. It’s “to be continued” another day!

Saturday, 4/11 – Act of Kindness #6: Nobody in the house felt like cooking Saturday night, so we placed an order with an area restaurant for takeaway instead. I was in charge of ordering, so when it came time to pay I decided to leave an extra-large tip for the restaurant waitstaff because I know that this small, local business is struggling to support its employees during these difficult times.

Sunday, 4/12 – Act of Kindness #7: I felt so much gratitude on Easter Sunday this year. I was thankful for nice weather and a large, delicious meal cooked up by my mother, as well as the opportunity to experience a semblance of normalcy by attending church virtually. I decided to write to my church’s priest to thank him for his dedication to our parish, and for calming our anxieties in this uncertain time. This particular act of kindness might seem minor – especially since I’ve already done a couple acts of kindness that involved me using my writing skills – but this actually brought me out of my comfort zone a bit because I simply had no idea how to properly express my thanks. But eventually I found the words that felt right, and I’m glad that I got over my hesitations and sent the note.

And with that, one full week of acts of kindness done…and I’m just getting started.

 

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 3 and 4

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One of the best parts about doing this kindness challenge during an, um…pandemic is that it requires me to think creatively.

I’m trying to avoid doing acts of kindness that prevents direct contact with others, because hello, social distancing!

So this means a lot of my efforts aren’t exactly tangible. But I’ve already started to feel that warm-‘n-fuzzy feeling that often comes with doing good for others, and it’s truly lovely.

More specifically…

Wednesday, 4/8 – Act of Kindness #3: I had an incredibly frustrating and mostly nonproductive work day – and to make it even more maddening, it wasn’t my fault; rather, there were various technological issues going on with my machine. I had to seek the help of my company’s IT person in order to resolve it. We spent a full hour on the phone, and during our call, I couldn’t help but notice that she wasn’t only juggling her job responsibilities, but she was also doing what she could to take care of her three young children. I was in awe of her ability to stay cool, calm, and collected throughout the entire troubleshooting period, so I decided to express my gratitude for her via email. I sent her a note in which I thanked her for her efforts, and also told her that I know I’m not the only one in our company who recognizes her hard work (in a meeting earlier in the day, the entire group on the call was singing her praise). She responded to my email and let me know that she really appreciated my kind words after a tough day, which put a huge smile on my face.

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“This is the best way we know how to bring a little respite to those fighting to keep us safe and healthy and remind them that we are thinking about them.” -New City Microcreamery

Thursday, 4/9 – Act of Kindness #4: So I had noooo idea what I should try to do for my fourth act of kindness. I have a list of ideas, but I’m also open to spur-of-the-moment acts inspired by the events of my day or observations that I make. And wouldn’t you know it, I had a major stroke of inspiration when I opened my personal Instagram profile.

I was scrolling through my feed when I noticed a post from a local ice cream shop that I adore. They were announcing a fundraiser called “Scoops for Heroes”. In the post, the team explained that the purpose of this program is to deliver pints of ice cream to our heroes on the front lines; specifically, individuals who work in hospitals and first responders. The goal was to raise $2,000 to start deliveries next week, with 100% of the proceeds going directly to employing team members and purchasing the goods needed to provide pints of ice cream to our hometown heroes.

Delicious ice cream and support for a local business, its employees, AND the amazing people who work to keep the community safe…what’s not to love about supporting a fundraiser that involves all of that? I was more than happy to contribute and I have total faith in my community’s ability to come together and meet (and more than likely, surpass) the creamery’s goal.

If you’re interested in contributing, too, here’s the link to the GoFundMe page.

27 Acts of Kindness: Days 1 and 2

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Hey Cactus huggers! Here’s my first update on how my 27 acts of kindness are going. I’ll continue to publish blog posts on my usual Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, and each post will cover the retroactive acts of kindness. You’ll see how it works as each post rolls out…so without further ado…

My 27 acts of kindness challenge has officially kicked off! (Not familiar with what I’m referring to? Here’s my introductory post to the how and why of my challenge.) Here are the two acts I’ve done so far:

Monday, 4/6 – Act of Kindness #1: Fittingly, this challenge began on a Monday. I was excited to complete my first act of kindness, but had no idea what it should be. So I waited until the late afternoon, when I had a thought…why not help out someone near and dear to me?

To maintain this person’s privacy, I won’t be sharing any of their personal information or explain my connection to them. But this person lives far away from me. And I miss this individual. I think of them often and it’s important to me that this person knows that I care. Since my person is going through some job difficulties at the moment, I decided to send them a little money. It’s not much, but it was a gesture intended to let the person know that they are not far from my thoughts. Hopefully, they are able to use it to treat themselves a little.

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Writing the card transported me right back to my childhood days of corresponding with pen pals.

Tuesday, 4/7 – Act of Kindness #2: Over the weekend, I spent some time researching acts of kindness ideas online. And I came across one website that suggested making a card for a hospitalized child. I loved this idea for so many reasons. For starters, all throughout my childhood, I was obsessed with drawing and writing cards and letters to family, friends, and pen pals. And when I received something in the mail in return, I was always over-the-moon excited. My appreciation for letter-writing and receiving is probably what fostered my passion for writing, period. And since I was a hospitalized child when I was diagnosed with diabetes at age 4, something about writing a card for a hospitalized child now felt natural to me…like a full-circle moment or something. So I busted out my old magic marker kit and wrote a heartfelt message in a card that I mailed off to an organization called Cards for Hospitalized Kids. I hope that my card lands in the hands of a child who could really use a reminder that they’re not alone.

And with that…two acts of kindness down, 25 more to go! I’m looking forward to seeing how the challenge evolves over time. And if you decide to take part in it, please do and let me know! I’d love to give shout-outs to any fellow participants.