Kindness Day #7

November 7-

When you don't feel good, all you want is your mom.  I am 37 years old, and I still miss my mom when I don't feel good.  Admittedly a few years ago, she came to take care of me when I was really feeling crumby...made me some hot tea and soup.  So yesterday I go to play mom/nurse for my little one.  Miss Em wasn't feeling good and started running a low grade temp.  By evening she was a hot mess.  She wanted tomato soup so we made a pot which she slurped right down.  Before it was even 7pm, we were in jammies curled up reading stories.  Her eyes were heavy but was sound alseep by 7:30.  It's no fun to have little ones who feel bad, but it feels good to try and make them feel better.

Kindness Day #6-

November 6-

Sharing is good, sharing makes my soul feel good.  This is a popular time of year when movies come out.  Last year I watched Bad Moms.  It was one of those movies that you wanted to see, but didn't want anyone to see you AT the theater watching it.  The movie is funny, SO funny.  Mostly because it is true and very relateable as a female. 

Of course I want to go to Bad Moms 2...the Christmas version that just came out.  Going to this movie will be way more enjoyable with girlfriends than your spouse.  So for day #6, I shared the first movie with a friend so that we could see the second one later this month.  Good belly laughing is good for the soul, right?!

Kindness Day #4- November 4

Rocky Before

  Living on a farm, you never know what adventures you might run across.  I grew up on a farm, but still consider it my home.  On Saturday, I was visiting my mom when she told me that the farm dog had gotten ahold of a baby kitty.  Usually this is code for 'snapped neck' or 'killed.'  His coat was drenched in dog slobber, not moving very much with his eyes half open.  The poor thing was simply adorable but pretty pathetic.  Being the animal lover that I am, I picked up the box and took him home.  The girls would be thrilled, but my husband, not so much!  My mom and I agreed that he would be lucky to make it through the night.

When I got home, I made a soft bed for him and let him rest.  Being a mom, I didn't sleep well wondering if he would be alive in the morning or not.  About 1:30 I got up to check on him.  He popped his little head up and was crying.  Now this little guy is little so hasn't been weaned off his mother.  I had some soft kitten food and put some water with it and it ate and ate as best he could.  I tucked him into bed again thinking the morning looked promising.  By morning our little fighter kitten was up and meowing and starving!  So more soft food and water.  By mid morning he was following us around the house and purring!  I have never seen a wild barn kitten so tame and loving when it hasn't been around people.

He is a lovey kitten and we hope to find a nice home for him.  Although we joke that we may need to help him "recover" for life.  Picking out a name was tricky, but I think we settled on Rocky.  He is a fighter after all.

Rocky After

Kindess Day #3- November 3

The service industry cannot be easy.  You are constantly serving others: making food, cleaning, taking care of children, greeting guests, answering questions and trying to do so with a positive attitude and smile.  I can imagine it is probably a thankless job most of the time. 

On Thursday and Friday I attended a conference.  Any time I stay in a hotel, I think about the maids and how they do the same job every day.  It can't be an easy job, but I sure appreciate a clean room, clean towels, and clean sheets.

My random act of kindness was to leave a $5 bill and a note of thanks.  I hope she (or he) enjoyed a soda after a long day of work!

Kindness Day #2- November 2

Fall is a great time of year.  I love fall!  I love sweatshirts, soup, fresh baked bread, football, and the crisp air.  Food videos are a guilty pleasure.  I really enjoy watching food videos!  What can I say?  Now my twin 6 year olds love to watch them too.  I ran across a video about mini apple pies.  So I baked up 24 last night.  I am a baker and I almost feel guilty about making them because it takes sugar cookie dough, apple pie filling.  I did make from scratch the whipped cream.  Yum-O!

This morning, we delivered a plate to the elementary office for a sweet treat!  Never mind that the plate (covered in plastic) fell onto the floor before it got to the office. Oh well...it all tastes the same even if it is slightly mangled. 

Day #2:  Mini Apple Pie

Kindness Day #1-November 1

What is something that makes people happy?  Food!  Food is fuel, but can also be comfort.  At the end of the day, sometimes it is great to just have a treat to celebrate the end of the day.  At our staff meeting, I shared 2 buckets of Halloween candy.  One bucket of chocolate, one of non-chocolate.

Day #1 Shared Halloween candy

November Kindness Project

Quite a while ago, I read the book, WONDER by RJ Palacio.  This was one of the best books that I had read in a very long time.  One of those "so good that you cry" books.  It's a favorite for adults and students alike.  I could hardly contain my excitement when I learned that there was a movie that was coming out.  As a bonus, the main actor is Owen Wilson and actress, Julia Roberts!!  If you don't know the story WONDER, you need to.  I will write more about that later.

You may have seen some pictures or clipart of something like this:

Being kind is a major theme that runs through the book.  Ironically, November is also Kindness month.  Let's face it, we all need a little more kindness in the world, right?!  We had a staff meeting yesterday where I presented to the staff a challenge.  I copied a blank calendar of the month of November and challenged each staff to perform one random act of kindness for each day of the month and jot it down...accountability to themselves. 

At home, I created a video with my own girls about a kindness challenge to the students.  Students are also to perform acts of kindness each week and post it up on our bulletin board by the elementary office.  My hope is that the board will be bursting with all kinds of kindness but also create some change so that practicing kindness becomes a habit without thinking.

Check back here to see all the good that is happening.  Of course, tweet it out if you can #BeKind.