Kindness 58

I hope that number's right, if it's not, I'll change it tomorrow. Today was another repeat of a good deed, but here's my defense. It snowed a lot last night. There was about 6 inches of snow on our driveway, likewise on our neighbour's driveway. I took the kiddies out and set them up with dirt toys (which double as snow toys in our house), and got to work.

I shovelled both driveways, and here is why it's okay that it's redundant: It's not the normal, light, fluffy snow that is almost a pleasure to shovel. It's not even the medium snow that's sticky and a little heavier. It's the heaviest kind of packing snow, that's sticky and uncooperative and just wet. It took me over an hour to get both driveways done the first time, and then I had to go over it again to get rid of all the chunks of ice.

So in the end it took me about 75 minutes to clear both driveways, and that's what I am counting as my kindness of the day. An aside: I offered to go out and shovel a driveway last night for new neighbours moving in on the other side. They came over to ask for a shovel because the people who moved out haven't cleared the driveway in a month. My husband went out to do it. I didn't offer his services, but apparently (wait for it) if a woman offers to do a man's job then the husband's got to do it because it's not manly to let his wife do work. Huh? Whatever. I still count it as a kindness because I wanted to do it!

Kindness 57

Today I have performed some mini-kindnesses again. J's birthday was on the weekend, and one of his friends couldn't make it to the party. His mom brought J his present beforehand, because she wanted him to have it anyway. That was so sweet that I made up an extra-special loot bag for her son so J could give it to him today. We also gave out a loot bag to another boy who couldn't make it, due to a family emergency.

I also took a little boy to the bus stop for his mom, because she was up sick all night. And I went to the resource centre and donated some change for their coffee jar, although I didn't get a coffee. I also told another mom while I was there some tricks to weaning her child off the night feedings (she asked, I wasn't being bossy).

So I think that even though there aren't many specific "kindnesses" in there, all the "nicenesses" make up for it. It's been a good day so far.

Kindness 56

Yesterday we stayed at home for the most part, because J has been fighting off a cold for two weeks and E has been sick with a cold for two weeks. We managed to get out for a sledding excursion, so I had to find something creative to do from home that was nice.

There is a chance that we might become the lucky owners of three Peterborough Petes tickets. My five-year old nephew plays hockey (and he's awesome, too), so I thought that it might be nice if he came along. P and I aren't huge hockey fans anyway and E is way too young for a game, so we decided that I can take J and my nephew to the game if he can come.

Note: P is for husband, J is for oldest son, E is for baby boy.

Kindness 55

Today I was a little tired from the birthday party yesterday. We still got a bunch of errands done though, and had a very busy day. Since they were so little, I bundled two kindnesses to make one medium-sized one for today. Hey, I'm tired.

I am the organizer of my book club, and I delivered all the books to the members today. Normally they come and pick them up, but I offered to take them all out. The second little act was to take back some snow pants, mitts, and a hat for a boy who forgot them here at the party. I put them in the dryer too. I had everyone bring their snow gear because it was a sledding party, but anyone would think I got the kids all dressed up and threw them into a pool, with how wet they got. I didn't want to take back smelly pants, so I dried them first.

Maybe tomorrow I'll find a really big kindness to do.

Kindness 53 and 54

Kindness 53 has some back story: My husband was outside Thursday night and saw a neighbourhood cat get hit by a truck. It ran away and he found it 45 minutes later, and asked a neighbour to let him keep it in his garage so it wouldn't run away again. He called for an emergency vet and it was taken away, but it was so banged up that he couldn't say whether the cat would make it or not.

Fast forward to Friday, and I went around the neighbourhood to ask whose cat it was. I didn't know the owner, because I didn't see the cat, but I thought whoever it was would like to know what had happened. It turned out it belonged to a girl I know from the school bus stop, and one of Jimmy's acquaintances. She was so upset and so was the little boy.

I called SPCA several times that day, and finally they told me they couldn't give me any information if I wasn't the owner. So I set up a calling time for the owner and let her borrow my phone for a couple hours, because she didn't have any minutes left on hers. Her husband was able to call and figure everything out, because he was able to describe the cat. The happy ending is, the cat will be okay. I think it needs some more medical attention because he has a broken jaw and probably some broken ribs too, but he's going to live.

Kindness 54 wasn't nearly so dramatic or emotional. Yesterday was Jimmy's birthday party, and one of his friends wanted to come but his mom couldn't walk all that way with three kids, so she had called and told em he couldn't make it. I offered to send my husband to go pick him up, because Jimmy and this boy are very good friends and for us, it's only a couple minutes of driving.

That covers Friday and Saturday. The cat owners were very grateful, both for my husband finding the cat and the use of my phone to figure things out. The mother of the boy was grateful, but even more important, the little boy was happy to be here and had a great time.

Kindness 52

I was on the bus today with Eddie, and saw a blind man who often takes the bus. I know his name from the drivers, whom he talks to regularly. I always felt so uncomfortable talking to blind people though. They can't see me and I never know how much to describe or what to say, and I don't want to seem in any way condescending or superior, because I don't pity anyone with a limitation. He was rolling up his Tim's cup to see if he'd won, so I offered to read it for him. He said yes, and unfortunately he didn't win anything. That led to a conversation though, with him asking about my kids and me asking if he found it hard to walk on the incredibly icy sidewalks lately. He said his cane mostly keeps him up, but sometimes it's hard. I told him about rubber, ice-grippers that he can stretch over his shoes to prevent slipping, and told him where to buy them. He said he would do that today, and was very grateful that I thought of it. I will say hi next time I see him, and hopefully my voice is distinctive enough that he knows who I am.

Kindness 51

I was out enjoying my Starbucks evening. Once or twice a month I go out to the bookstore and then take my laptop and magazines to Starbucks to enjoy a decaf white mocha. I heard the coworkers talking amongst each other about baking. One of the guys had a kid's birthday coming up and he was in charge of the cupcakes, but he was ranting about some parents not wanting their kids to eat sugar so he wanted a good muffin recipe. I heard (yeah, I was eavesdropping, but people are so interesting) that his girlfriend was away until the day of the party, so he was in charge of the baked goodies. I wrote down my never-fail banana muffin recipe, and even gave him some alternatives for icing, like fruit jam or an oatmeal cinnamon topping. He appreciated it, and said he would have to figure out the stove, to which I told him, they usually have a knob or button for temp. control, and he was all set.

Kindness 50

I was at the grocery store picking up a few odds and ends, and I grabbed a couple cans of soup for the food bank bin. I never donate to that because our grocery budget is so tight, but I figured that everyone needs soup and it's relatively cheap, and it was something new for me. I've donated food before, just not lately.

Kindness 49

I mentioned the boys were sick all weekend. Well, Family Day brought no relief. They were coughing, feverish, and drippy. Not to mention a little bit emotional.

My husband received free passes to a Family Day event in our town, but the boys were too sick to go. I gave the passes to a family with a young boy, so they could enjoy the day and save the $15. No one could have handled bouncy castles today, but that's where they would have been for hours. So instead we took them to the Canoe Museum, which is surprisingly (to me at least) a great place to go with kids. We had lots of interactive and calm activities, and someone else got to enjoy the free pass to the Bouncy Castles!

Kindnesses 46, 47, and 48

Sorry about the long gap between postings. My boys and husband are sick, and it's been a pretty demanding weekend to say the least. I was still able to get a few good deeds and kindnesses done though.

On Friday my oldest son had soccer, so I took the baby on the bus to meet him after school. At the terminal, there was a woman looking for bus fare. She was in a bit of a panic because she had to pick up her child from daycare. I gave her my transfer, which I didn't need because I have a pass. That being said, I had to use one of our ten rides on the pass because I didn't have the transfer, but it wouldn't have been going out of my way if that wasn't the case, right? I also shoveled the neighbour's driveway again.

Saturday was grocery day. There was a lady with her three children there, and I noticed she was buying the cereal that I had a coupon for. Instead of using the coupon for us, I gave it to her. She appreciated it, and I figured with three kids, cheaper cereal is always a good thing.

Today I went out to personally hand-deliver a birthday invitation. It's my son's party this weekend, and I can't get in touch with the mom of the boy he wants to invite, so I drove there to do it in person. I know his friend would love to be a part of it, and Jimmy wants him there too, so today my kindness was for two little big boys.

Kindness 45

Well happy Valentine's Day everyone! Today it was easy to do something nice. Jimmy took in Valentine's cards to all his classmates, and I put together little goodie bags for everyone. They had homemade ginger cookies (see the link for home made bear paws on my other page, they are delicious), chocolates, cinnamon hearts, and little erasers.

Technically, I put all the stuff in the bags last week, and baked the cookies and attached the cards to them yesterday, but I sent them in to school today. The funny part is, Jimmy and I forgot them at the door and my friend had to take them in for me when she took in cupcakes for her son's class. That's the great thing about karma I guess.

Kindnesses 43 and 44

Yesterday I was not in a good mood. I still performed my act of kindness though. I had to go to the clinic and I paid two dollars for someone's parking. It was an elderly man, and he was fumbling in his pockets for change. I told him I would take care of it and paid the ticket machine. He thanked me and said that not many younger people talked to him anymore, much less went out of their way for him. It made my day better.

Today I took my friend's child to a local drop-in sports program. I knew she was busy getting things ready for her husband's birthday tomorrow, so I brought her son along with us. It was too much fun to really count, though. I also picked her up some tickets for events at the library, which she couldn't get today because she didn't have a vehicle. Well, I sent my husband to get the tickets, but it's all the same, right?

Kindness 42

Today when I went to the gym, a lady in the change room left her cell phone behind. I noticed and ran through the change room to give it back to her. I had to run in my underwear to get to her before she left, which was not a favor to anyone who could see me. I thin k giving her phone back cancelled out the transgression though. At least I hope it did.

Kindness 41

I went out grocery shopping yesterday with the intention of just being very nice to everyone and seeing if I could get an act of kindness in somewhere. There were a couple things I did. An elderly man was looking at the coffee, trying to figure out which one was on sale. He couldn't read the small writing on the prices so I helped him figure out which one was cheapest. It also turned out to be his favourite, which made me happy.

I saw a coffee jar that had the plastic broken on it, so I took it up to the front to pass it in. It wasn't very noticeable, and I didn't want anyone to grab it and take it home without seeing it.There was also a lady who was in line for the cash, and for some reason she put down her basket and left. I took the basket to customer service so it wasn't in the middle of the floor for people to trip over.

As my last kind act, when I was returning the shopping cart there was a man looking for a quarter. He didn't seem to be having any luck finding one, so I gave him my cart (and my quarter). Yesterday was many little acts, but it made me happy.

Kindnesses 39 and 40

I'm sure many of you had some snow in the last couple of days. I'm not sure what it was like for other parts of Ontario, but here in Peterborough there was over 30 cm of it. Yesterday was a shoveling day. I took the boys out to shovel, but after ten minutes someone came by with a plow on his truck and plowed my driveway for me. I don't know who it was but it was very nice of him.

That left me with two kids playing in the snow and a clear driveway, so we headed across the street to help my friend with her driveway. I got out of my own driveway, so it only made sense to help someone else. It was still snowing though, and we all had to shovel several times after that too, but that was my good deed for yesterday.

Today, my son was invited to a birthday party. The birthday boy's dad was sick so his mom was doing the work for the party. I helped her with the kids and setting up, as well as cleaning up after so she could oversee the gift unwrapping. I also stayed with some of the kids so she could load up her van when it was all done, because their parents hadn't come to pick them up yet. I know how busy a party can get, especially if you're the hosting parent, and I wanted her to enjoy her boy's birthday.

Kindness 37 and 38

Yesterday I went to Tim Hortons again. For those who don't know me, I need at least two coffees per day, more often it's four though. I usually make instant at home but yesterday I got the chance to buy a real one. I donated to Camp Day for Kids again, but since that's redundant and I'm trying to be creative (or at least not too repetitive), I bought the order for the lady in front of me.

I learned my lesson last time about buying the next order in line, because last time I spent almost ten dollars. I know a kindness is a kindness, but I don't have the money to buy everyone sandwiches. So when I saw she was only buying two coffees, I went up and told her she'd really be doing me a favour if she let me buy them for her. She was a bit uncomfortable, until I explained my resolution. She thanked me very much and proceeded to buy some donuts with the money she had saved. Turns out, she had limited funds too and she couldn't get treats for her kids until I paid for her coffee.

Today I went to the resource centre and donated some books. I was selling children's books but it wasn't working out for me. I ordered a bunch of books for demonstration, and many weren't the type my boys are interested in. I took some in for the lending library. They are wonderful books, educational and great quality so they will last a long time. I wasn't using them so I thought maybe a bunch of other kids would benefit.

Kindness 36

Today I went to the family resource centre with Eddie. At the centre they have coffee that's free, with an option to donate some change if you can. I put in $2 to help the centre out, because all the money goes for programming to help families.

Addendum: Does anyone else think the word "centre" looks ridiculous with Canadian spelling?

Kindness 35

While playing outside with the kids on this beautiful and freezing day, I saw that once again the lawns were littered with garbage and recycling. Now part of this is the wind, because we get at least one wind storm every two weeks and it blows garbage and recycling everywhere. Part of it is the fault of inconsiderate people who throw junk on other people's lawns while they're walking. And part of this is the fault of the garbage men themselves. They dump garbage and recycling bins quickly and carelessly, dropping garbage everywhere but in the garbage truck.

I thought it looked pretty gross so I enlisted my kids to help me gather the recycling for the entire length of the street. It was fun and we all had mitts on so we weren't too cold. That was my kindness of the day. I'm sure someone somewhere looked out of a window and saw me doing it, but if not, whatever. It looks much nicer now, whether people know it was me or not.

Kindness 34

I looked all over the place today for someone needing some help or kindness and everywhere there were people opening doors for me and being very polite. Now I'm not complaining (maybe it's karma at work here), but it does make my resolution rather difficult. So in the interest of compromising creativity for kindness, I donated $2 for the Tim Hortons Kids Camp Fund when I bought my coffee. That's it, that's all. How anticlimactic. I don't donate money often though, so it's still outside the box.

Kindnesses 32 and 33

To maintain accuracy I am changing the titles of my posts to Kindness, not Good Deed. It is still the exact some philosophy, but covers a broader range of things.

Yesterday was one of the easy days. I was at Jimmy's soccer class and there was another woman there with her young boy, watching her son. The younger boy was not a fan of sitting still to watch his brother play soccer. I can relate to boys having trouble with patience and stillness, so I reached into my bag of tricks and gave her some kiddie books to keep him occupied. It worked for about twenty minutes, which is very impressive for a two-year old.

Today I held the door open for a couple with two young children at the coffee shop. That was a smaller act, but considering someone had just let the door slam shut on me, it seemed appropriate. I also baked some extra cookies to give to my neighbours. I figured out the home made bear paw recipe (see my mom blog for the link to that), and make them in bulk, so I'm happy to share.