Kindness 120

Today I gave a graham cracker to a little boy in the bus who was having a hard time. It made him happy for a minute, so then I gave him another one. I also changed seats so another boy could sit closer to his mother, who was standing with a stroller.

Both moms thanked me and were grateful. Moms are very appreciative in general, especially to other moms who take the time to help them a little. Just a sociological observation, because some people don't even say thank you when I do something for them.

Conclusion: If your goal is to be more appreciative, have a kid.

Kindnesses 118 and 119

For all my readers, I will be making shorter posts for the time being, because I have an article to finish soon. I don't have much writing time and what I do have is going to be devoted to that for a week or two. With that in mind, here are my kindnesses for yesterday and today:

118:
I bought coffee for a lady with four children. She clearly needed it.

119:
I brought brownies to our favourite bus driver, who we don't see that often because he drives a different bus.

Kindness 117

Today I took J to his sports class and there was another mom sitting beside me with a toddler. All this little boy wanted to do was jump in and play soccer with his older sister, and since I didn't take E to watch J to avoid the same thing, I didn't have my arsenal of toys in my bag. I set up my toddler cell phone game and let him play. It worked and he was sitting still at the sidelines, until his sister came over and wanted to play the game too. So it backfired, but it was still my kindness of the day.

Kindness 115 and 116

Yesterday I let my neighbours borrow a drill for some home improvement. Actually, I let them borrow an impact driver, a nail gun, and a drill, but they only needed a drill. I couldn't find the tool I was looking for due to a lack of organization in our basement, so I gave them every power tool I could find, and let them keep it over the weekend so they can work on what's needed.

Today I took some cookies over to a different neighbour, because he was complaining his daughter ate all the cookies I took over before and he didn't get any. Since I usually have spare baked goods lying around, I took him some so he could have a little treat.

Kindness 114

The owners of the cafe at the bus terminal are among my favourite people. They're always so nice to us and they love the kids. They thank us every time we go in, even when we don't buy anything. There is an older lady and man, and their son helps out with the business a lot. I make sure to bring the kids in as much as possible and order something small, because all three have said it makes their day better to see the boys.

The cafe has been closed for a couple weeks now though. There's a sign up saying it's temporary, but it's been a while. Someone at the terminal said the man had a stroke, but I'm not sure how reliable that information is. I do know he gets tired easily and can only work half days, because he's over 80 years old. His wife is there for over 12 hours every day, but they both work incredibly hard.

Since I don't know exactly what happened, today I made a card for them with a note giving them my phone number and telling them we are thinking of them. I offered any help they need, but if they don't need it at least they know we miss them. That was my kindness for the day, although it seems like it's too normal to count. It's something I would have done whether I'd made this resolution or not, but not everyone would do the same so it's what I'm posting.

Kindness 113

When I did my marathon baking on the weekend, I promised J I would save some muffins for our next door neighbour (the nice one). I saw her today while E and I were looking out the window, so I rushed out to intercept her and give her some banana muffins.

I also gave some information about local parenting resources to a mom I see on the bus quite often. We were both going to the gym so I wrote down the information at the child care centre and now she can go to the play groups that are offered.

Kindness 112 (I think)

Today I went to the gym with the kids before their swimming lessons. A friend of mine knows the cafe owner personally, and has nothing but good things to say about how hard he works and how good his food is. It's all made at the facility from scratch and it sure looks and smells delicious. I decided it would be nice for him to hear some compliments so I told him about our mutual friend and that she thinks he's awesome. I also told him that his food smells wonderful every time we go in (but it defeats the purpose of me going to the gym if I'm too hungry). He laughed and said thank you. People who work so hard at their own business need reminders sometimes that it is appreciated, and that was my kindness for the day.

Kindness 111

Today was my marathon baking day. I have those every once in a while so I can make a freezer full of snacks for the kids and save on groceries. Today I made banana bread, banana muffins, and about 300 molasses bear paws. J had a friend over and since it wasn't snowing like yesterday (anyone else think there's something wrong with that?), I took the kids to the park.

There were lots of parents and grandparents who felt the same way, and even though it was cold the sun was shining and the park was full. I hoped that would be the case because I brought a wagon full of bear paws to share. I passed out a homemade bear paw cookie to every child there (with parent's permission, of course). Some parents even took the cookies and I gave them the website for the recipe. That was my kindness. Cookie distribution.

For the recipe, go to http://www.momtoldyouso.blogspot.com and look for the recipes. There's a link to the site. Believe me they are the best!

Kindness 109 (addition) and 110

Yesterday everyone was in a very bad mood, like I noted previously. I tried to do nice things but none were appreciated. Then I got a chance last evening to do something else. My friend called me to ask if I would come over and do a short interview for the news about cloth diapering. I really didn't want to because my hair was a mess and we had yet to buy a last-minute birthday present for J's friend, but I made it happen. I carted the kids away to the store for the quickest gift pick-up ever (in and out of the store in under four minutes), and headed on over to my friend's house, boys in tow. I wasn't TV ready by any means, although I did brush my hair. That counts for something around here. But it's okay because I have Netflix and wasn't going to be watching myself  anyhow, and it was good to help out a friend who needed it (and appreciated it).

Today my kindness was for the same friend. She organized the Peterborough Great Cloth Diaper Change, and although it was a bit hectic to get myself and E there, we did it. It required dropping J and my husband off for sports, going to the Change, then turning right back and picking up my husband and J for a birthday party. I wasn't able to make it last year though (same child's birthday party), so I'm glad I went to support her this year.


For anyone with a baby, consider this: Up to $200/month for disposable diapers vs. as little as $300 for cloth until potty training. Also think about the amount of toxic waste going to landfills, and how easy it is to switch. They are just as easy as disposables and a lot more stylish (frogs anyone?) No need for soaking, just set your machine to heavy wash and you're done. Plus they make the best rags when you're finished with them.
http://www.changingwaysdiapers.com

Kindnesses 108 and 109

Yesterday we went to the corner to wait for the school bus and there was dog feces all over the sidewalk. I should say still because it was there one Tuesday too. I told everyone coming that way to watch out so no one stepped in it, and then after J went to school I kept E outside on his new bike (yes, a bike for toddlers) so I could clean it up. I spent five minutes removing it (to our garbage in a bag) and hosing off the sidewalk a bit. Most people in this area pick up after their dogs, but there are a few who don't. I don't see why lazy dog owners should make other people suffer. I'm not even going to mention the complaints about my next door neighbour (see my rant on momtoldyouso blog for that).

Someone came out and asked what I was doing when I was cleaning up, and I told him. Since the mess was right in front of his house, he was appreciative but didn't understand why I was cleaning up after someone else' dog. I told him I wasn't the only one to use the sidewalks and thought it would be nice to take a minute to get rid of the mess, and he still didn't get it. So I told him if I'd known who left it, I may have picked it up and dumped it on their lawn instead and he understood that. I was joking but not convincingly I guess. Just goes to show that there are a lot of people out there who would rather have a tit for tat than just suck it up and do something nice.

Today I took E out and no one was in a good mood in this town. Must be the weather. E wasn't in a great mood either. I tried to cheer people up by being polite and starting conversations, but no one wanted to smile today. I helped a lady lift her walker onto the bus, because the driver wouldn't lower the ramp and she almost hit me. I guess she thought I was trying to steal it. I picked up someone's phone when they dropped it beside my seat, and he just grabbed it back without saying thank you. I stopped trying after that. I tried to be nice and helpful, but no one was receptive. Does that still count?  

Kindness 107

Today there was a soon-to-be mother of three who had been turned away from the food bank. She said they wouldn't even give her milk, and that's all she needed. Then she told me that there were two ladies who had been let in that were nice enough to give her some of their food, including powdered milk. She gave my children three packages of cookies. I thought that was so nice of her that I gave her $5 to go buy some fresh milk for her own children. I've talked to her before several times, and she's always very nice to us. She said she hasn't needed the food bank in over a year but it's been a tough month. It was great to help her out but even better to hear of the other women who shared their food. If it starts, it just keeps going.

Kindness 106

Today I was talking to another mom I see on the bus regularly. She mentioned she needed a baby gate and I had an extra one. The first we bought couldn't be installed safely in our house. Something about the drywall not holding it, even with the anchors and proper hardware. We ended up buying two new ones way back when and that first one was just collecting dust in our basement, so I offered it to her. There's nothing wrong with the gate, just our walls. She came over to pick it up and was very happy with it. I felt good about it because she's always nice to us on the bus and she really appreciated it.

Kindness 105

Today I was out enjoying this spring weather with the boys. I`m happy this country finally caught up with the calendar. I spent some time picking up garbage on some of the neighbour`s lawns because after all that wind last week some places were looking pretty messy. I know who keeps their lawn neat and worked on those ones. I even enlisted E to help hold the garbage bag. He ended up putting it in his wagon and carting it halfway across town, but it was a great effort!

Kindness 103 and 104

Yesterday J had a friend over and I took them to a school fundraiser at an indoor playground. It was $10 for each child, and one of my earlier kindnesses was to loan the money to his mom so I could register him for the event. My kindness yesterday was to just pay the money, because when we picked him up she didn't mention it and she looked like she'd had much better days so I didn't mention it either.

Today I made my husband laugh. I can't repeat what I said because it's not appropriate for a wide audience, but it felt good to make him laugh. He enjoyed me being funny and cleverness does take a lot out of me (although I'm a glutton for punishment) so I count that as my kindness.

Kindness 102

I went to bed last night thinking I'd be out and about with E this morning and have plenty of opportunity to fill some buckets. I woke up in two senses to a mid-April ice-storm. Plans for the day changed and I stayed in my pyjamas until almost dinner. I only put on clothes then because the power was out and I couldn't cook dinner, so I went to buy some.

Anyway, I got the chance to be kind when my neighbour came over to drop something off before she picked up my son from school (it was also a snow day). She mentioned she sent her husband to buy coffee earlier but debit was down, so I asked her if she wanted some money to get one for all of us. In reality, I almost threw a $20 bill at her in my excitement, because without electricity I couldn't boil water for my second coffee and I need a second coffee. And a third. So I bought them coffee (kind of, without a vehicle I couldn't pick them up but I paid for them). I also went out to get dinner for my own family, which was much tastier than sausages and potatoes would have been.

Kindness 101

Today I was kind to myself by going to the gym. I dropped E off at the child care centre and I also gave them a couple of used books that E has grown out of. They were in very good shape and E loved them a few months ago, but now he's graduated from ducks to diggers and there's no going back. There are a lot of babies and toddlers who utilize the child care centre who will love those books, so I felt good about it.

Kindness 100

My kindness of the day was for J's school. They sent home a newsletter about their 100th anniversary coming up soon and asked for anyone with some extra money to donate to help with preparation costs. I was only able to give them $10, but it's something. It was $10 I could have spent on any number of things, because I give myself an allowance of free spending money every week that I don't have to account for. We're on a pretty tight budget, as anyone reading my Mom blog knows, and I thought it would be nicer to give some of it away than keep it for real coffee. The other $20 in my spending went toward a school trip for J and his friend. I can have a real coffee next week.

Kindnesses 97, 98 and 99

I'm almost at 100! That seems like a lot but then again, there are 365 days total so let's see here. 365/99=.....I don't have a calculator. Okay, so I'm between 25-33% done! And I've kept up on it every day too. I do have to apologize for cramming three kindnesses into one post but my computer's been acting up lately and I couldn't type anything without my keyboard freezing. With that in mind I'm going to start with today's kindness (#99) and go backwards.

Today I'm going to share some valuable advice about computers for all those who are like me and don't know a thing. Don't go to websites! They will give you viruses. Also, if you have a problem with your apostrophe key and it's typing the French "e" instead of the apostrophe, hold down shift and control to switch your keyboard back to English. It took me a while to figure this one out and then I finally Googled it, but for a while I was typing "That is fine and I am okay with that" and "Let us go to where you are likely to have fun." That's a bit too formal for me. So as my act of goodwill I'm passing on these tips that I picked up yesterday. Here's one more: If you have a "touch mouse" and not one of the cord ones (I don't know what either is called), you can go into the settings of your computer and change the sensitivity. This is great because you don't want to open a malicious e-mail with a sneeze (probably where I got the virus).

Yesterday my good deed was a little more action-oriented. My neighbour's little boy has grown out of his bike and J has as well. Instead of us both buying new bikes, we're going to switch J's for a bigger one they were waiting to use in a couple years. This way everyone can still ride bikes, but no one has to spend any money.

The day before yesterday I was on my way home from my mom's place and I stopped to get a coffee. I bought a coffee for the girl in drive-thru behind me. I'm still waiting for the day that I start this and it goes on for 3000 cars, like it did in British Columbia last year. That was neat, and I want to start a coffee gift chain. Maybe this week.

Kindness 96

I'm rather limited in what I can do today as a kindness for strangers, because we're at my mom's place for the weekend. With that in mind, today I'm dedicating my kindness toward my mother. I emptied the dishwasher for her this morning and will keep tidying up wherever possible throughout the day. I also brought her some homemade granola bars which she hasn't eaten yet, but it's still something nice. They're yummy so when she does eat them I'm sure she'll  appreciate it.

Kindness 94 and 95

Yesterday my friend mentioned that her little boy bit his lip and it was swollen and painful. The poor little guy was covering his fat lip with his hand because he was embarrassed. I gave her some teething gel to numb it for him. I also gave her several D batteries because she just had a baby and everything for babies needs D batteries. Since our little one can't stand the teething gel and has graduated from D battery gadgets to AA toys, I was more than happy to pass them along. It also freed up some valuable drawer space for more AA batteries, and even AAA batteries (which my six year old has graduated to).

I apologize, but I forgot to add today's kindness. Those were for yesterday. Today I gave a generous tip to the guy at Tim Hortons and made him laugh by telling him if he cleaned my car he could have more (I'd just dropped my wallet and the change went everywhere). I didn't think it was that funny but it made his day better and making someone smile is filling a bucket. The book says so.

Sidenote: With the American spelling feature Hortons is not a word. With Canadian, it is. There's a smile for all of you!

Kindness 93

Today I went to the gym, and I suppose that was a kindness to myself (although tomorrow it won't feel like it). I took E to the child care centre there and donated a really good book for babies and toddlers. I see the workers there reading to the kids all the time and thought a new book would be appreciated. It was, and one of the girls immediately sat down with two kids to read it.

Kindness 92

Today was definitely a "kid day." I performed a kindness for Eddie today by hosting a toddler play group for him. It was a kindness for the other moms and kids too because everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, but Eddie was the primary recipient. I also performed a kindness for Jimmy, inviting one of his best friends over for an after school play date. I then performed a kindness for his friend by introducing him to homemade lasagne. That one was for my whole family as well because everyone just gobbles it up. I also made an extra one for my sister to deliver in a week or two.

Kindness 91

Today was garbage day, but before you judge me for boring you with garbage day again, remember that it was the long weekend and there were three days worth of extra garbage for everyone on our street. That's relevant because I didn't just take bins back to the houses for my neighbours. It was extremely windy today (yes, I know that happens a lot too) but it was the kind of windy that blew over the full bins of recycling and garbage. I went outside five times before lunch to return bins to the proper lawns and pick up garbage fro the street. By the time the trucks actually went by I'd done it over ten times, and then when they did I went out again to deliver the bins back to their rightful households. It's an indication of how common the wind is that most people here write their addresses on their bins. E was napping so I was able to take the time to do this. I also fully intended to go out after dinner to clean up the garbage from the street and some lawns, but by the time we got home and ate, the wind had taken it all away somewhere else.

Kindness 90

Yesterday I made a homemade apple pie for my family. It was the first time I made any kind of pie from scratch (except the crust, I don't have that much time) and it turned out pretty awesome. The kids loved it and after two days of procrastinating, my husband even tried a small piece. That's impressive and not to say anything about my baking. He is picky. As if that wasn't nice enough, the kids and I also passed out some more Easter cookies. Happy Easter everyone!