26 acts of kindness, #4

I guess sometimes my posts will be anticlimactic. Like I said before, no matter how much I want them to, they all can't be huge, grand gestures. I'm not Oprah. Or Ellen Degeneres. I'm just me -a wife and mom trying to juggle normal everyday responsibilities. Will we have leftover chili and cornbread for dinner tonight, or should I make the chicken that's thawed in the fridge? Should I do that load of laundry right now, or clean up the leaves in the back yard instead? Why does the damn rat keep throwing the bedding out of her cage every night and leaving a mess for me to sweep up in the morning? And does that mean I should replace the fluffy bedding with the smaller, harder pieces? And where the hell is the alarm clock that is buried in one of the kids' rooms that keeps going off every four freaking hours? And so it goes. Oprah probably doesn't have to worry about that kind of BS. But it's the life I chose and I wouldn't change it for anything! And that's the truth.

I also don't have an unlimited income for this stuff. We've been very fortunate in that Eric's job is enough income to support us, so when I started teaching at the gym, we both kind of just decided that any income I made through teaching I could choose to spend however I wanted. Mad money, if you will. (You know the old funny saying, "What's mine is mine, and what's yours is mine?" I suppose that applies here!) While I don't earn very much, it's been nice to be able to cash my checks and put the money in an envelope to save up for a special occasion. It turns out that these acts are the special occasion. And that is just fine with me. But because I don't have unlimited resources, I'm also learning that joy and happiness can be found in very small acts of kindness. I know for a fact that if I were at the coffee shop and the clerk told me that the person in front of me had paid for my coffee, it would absolutely make my day. (Although we've already established that I don't drink coffee, so replace that with a fountain Diet Coke and we're set!) So I'm trying to tell myself that I really can be satisfied with doing some smaller things for people. I've always been the type of person who thinks that bigger is better. A surprise party for Eric's 40th? Well, sure we could just have everyone bring an appetizer, but what if we get it catered instead, and also hire a DJ and a photo booth? Making some cookies to pass out at Christmas time? Yeah, I guess I could just make them for my closest friends, but wouldn't it be even better to pass them out to all of my local friends? When you're already baking, what's another 75 dozen cookies to add? (By the way, local friends, I didn't bake cookies this year. Our trip to Hawaii interfered with my baking time. So you weren't cut from the list - hopefully you'll get your cookies again next year.) Josh Groban is touring? Why go to just one concert? Why not figure out how to hit as many as possible, even if it means flying to Seattle or Los Angeles, or both? Hopefully these very real examples paint a picture of my psyche just a little bit.

And if I'm doing 26 of these acts of kindness, I'm going to run out of ideas (and money) very quickly. So my goal for the next few acts is to just lay low. Do something that might surprise and brighten someone's day, but don't go overboard trying to make it bigger and better. It's harder than you might realize to think of ideas. I challenge you to try to think of a few. Even if you can't do 26 of them, imagine if everyone reading this just did one!

I did do the fourth one today. As you know, this idea came about in the aftermath of the shooting at Sandy Hook. So my kids' teachers have been featuring  heavily in my thoughts. We are lucky enough to live in what I really think of as the perfect little town. We are close to a big city, but we are in a nice suburban area where everyone helps everyone. Meal trains are set up when someone is sick or has a loss in their family. School fundraisers are the sole reason for some peoples' existence. Little League games or soccer games occupy most of the local parks every weekend. Our 4th of July parade is massively attended and a highlight of the year for many - not to mention our tree lighting ceremony downtown. It's a great little town, and in a way you feel like you're living in a bubble. But wait. Wasn't Newtown the same kind of town? And then you feel that punch in your gut. Yes, they were. They are. So if that kind of tragedy can happen there, why couldn't it happen here? And while you hope and pray with all your might that nothing like that ever happens here, there's that brand new tiny seed of worry in your mind. So if I'm feeling that while safe inside my home during the weekdays, you know that the teachers are feeling some of that as well. 

Without making a big spectacle or big deal out of it, I wanted to take a moment to thank the wonderful teachers at our school. Obviously I can't do something for every single one of them, so I chose to just do it for the ones who have taught my kids, specifically. Starting with the teacher they both had for kindergarten, and continuing through first, second, and third grades. I also thought of the office staff - the people that you see when you first walk through the door of the school every day. So, as I have before, I pulled out my trusty pack of thank-you cards, and I wrote one for each of these people. I thanked them for taking such good care of my kids; for being such great teachers and friends. I told them that I was grateful for them and just wanted to take a moment out of my day to let them know how much our family appreciates all they do for us. Then I went to Costco and got my favorite little flower arrangements for each of them. (They have the best little arrangements that sit in a low, square vase.) I get them quite often - they last a long time, and they're always really pretty. Of course, today, when I needed five of them, they weren't quite as nicely put together as I've seen them in the past. But what are you gonna do? They weren't perfect, but they were pretty enough. 

I attached the cards to each arrangement, and as I went to pick up the kids, I dropped them off at their respective rooms, starting with the office staff. I went inside and said to them, "I wish I could buy flowers for every single one of you guys, but since I can't, I hope you don't mind sharing. I just want to say thank you for all the hard work you do, and for taking care of my kids." They seemed so happy and really surprised. Then to the teacher they had for kindergarten, who I also consider a friend. She's obviously been reading my blog, because when she saw the flowers in my hand, she said, "Am I one of your 26 acts?" I kind of laughed and said, "Why yes you are!" She was also very appreciative. It was good to see her - life gets busy and you just don't get a chance to catch up with the people in your life often enough. After chatting with her for a bit, I made my way to the next classrooms. Unfortunately the teacher that both my kids had for first grade retired last year after teaching Emily's class. She's still in the area though, and I'm going to see if I can find out where she lives so I can drop an arrangement and card off for her as well. After that, it was off to the second grade teacher that Owen had last year. She was busy getting her students out the door, so I just handed her the arrangement with the card tucked into it, and said, "I know you're busy. We can chat later - these are just to say thanks." She seemed baffled because she isn't teaching either of my kids this year. But she taught my son last year, and that's reason enough to include her and thank her. And my last two stops were the teachers that my kids currently have. Emily's teacher was out at a meeting, so I just slipped into the room and left the flowers and card on her desk. I caught Owen's teacher by herself in her classroom and as I walked in, I announced, "This has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that my son is getting lazy with his handwriting and homework. It's not a bribe!" We both laughed at that, and when I told her what I was doing, she gave me a hard hug and thanked me. As I turned to leave, she hugged me again. I really feel like maybe she needed those flowers today. And that made me feel good. It was well worth every penny that came out of my "aerobics money" envelope today. 

We trust these teachers with our kids for over thirty hours a week. They, more than anyone else, deserve a thank you. If you get a chance, try to take a quick moment to thank the teachers in your life. It just might mean the world to them to hear it. 






26 acts of kindness, #1
26 acts of kindness, #2 
26 acts of kindness, #3