Sunday Kindness

I can check off my Act of Kindness for today!

I was at the carwash today (I like to go for the free popcorn and lemonade to be honest!). And I noticed an older woman who had two canes who was watching her car. Her car ended up being moved to the far end of the carwash lot and I noticed she would have to walk pretty far to get to her car.

So I asked her if I could ask about having her car moved closer. And she was so surprised and so grateful. I asked and got the guys to move her car closer to her. As we stood there waiting, she kept saying thank you and admired the privleges I took and said she would learn from me - that she would ask next time.

It was such a simple thing to do and reminded me of the simple acts of kindness that will present themselves in all situations at all times of the day.

It also reminded me of the kindness we can show toward our older citizens and how simple can asks can turn into large amounts of gratitude.

Earth Day Meet Kindness

Happy Earth Day to you all! What a fun day this is - I really do think we should make it a national holiday. A day to go out and celebrate Mother Earth!

Kindness can come in many forms - and that can include being kind to your environment and your community. Here are some kind-minded ideas to celebrate today and heck - the rest of the year!

*Walk around your neighborhood with a trashbag and pick up the trash around your house. Every little bit counts!

*Remember to bring your own bags to the grocery and all other stores today. Many of those stores offer a bag credit and you are being kind by not taking any plastic or paper bags with you.

*Take public transportation! Or carpool! It's a great way to get out in the community and you won't have to worry or stress about driving.

*Go through your closet and really weed through the clothes you don't wear. Have a swap with your friends OR donate to Goodwill or find a local charity that provides outfits for interviews.

*Go thorugh your house - what don't you need? And then get on Freecycle!

*Save trees! Save paper! Try using cloth towels instead of paper towels. Consider signing up for the national do not mailing list so you cut down on the amount of credit card offers and catalogs you get in the mail.

*Plant some flowers and veggies! If the First Lady is doing it at the White House, we can too! Planting a vegetable garden means you know where your vegetables are coming from and you are following the seasons and therefore really eating vegetables that don't cost money in transport or are against the season. And flowers can just help beautify the neighborhood!

So many ways to be kind. Celebrate Earth Day!

Kindness goes Abroad

I sent out an email to my group of friends asking them to send along their kindness stories and my good friend, Sarah did not disappoint! Here's her kindness story (and it's an amazing one!).

When I was about 23 I was traveling from Portugal to France on an overnight train by myself. In my mind, I had planned to get off in Nice, however, I fell asleep somewhere in the northern part of France and missed my stop. It was late at night, I didn't know much French and I was all alone.

When I woke up I heard the train director say that the next stop was the city of Cannes. So I frantically pulled out my travel book and began looking up hostels that might be close to the station. I had no idea if there would be availability at any of the hostels that were listed or if it would be possible to get to them safely so late at night.

I ended up using my humble french to ask a couple sitting near me if I could by any chance use their cell phone to call a hostel and they graciously accepted my plead. A few rows back, a young french girl must have overheard me and sensed my stress. When I got off the phone she moved into the seat next to me and told me that she had a car at the station and would be happy to drive me around Cannes to see if I could find a place to stay the night.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing and not having any other options I put my faith in this stranger and accepted her offer. We ended up driving to 3 different hostels, all of which had no availability.

So, Segolene, ended up offering me a place on the floor at her apartment for the night. She said that she had been planning a solo backpacking trip through South East Asia and wanted to do this in hopes that during some time of need on her trip, someone would take the same mercy on her.

I would have been roaming the dark streets of Cannes scared out of my mind for an evening if she had not been so generous and willing to take a chance on a stranger.

Out of Grief comes Kindness

In the mommy blogosphere in the last two weeks, two well-loved bloggers lost their small babies. It's awful when a parent outlives their child and I have to say, I had no idea who these people were in real life, but I felt horrible for them.

But every cloud does have a silver lining doesn't it?

I was amazed though to see all of the kindness acts from their internet friends. One woman started a donation site so that others could donate to help offset some of the funeral costs.

Two women put together packages for nurses at their local NICU and became guardian angels for the day for those who care for little ones.

It's amazing how the internet has brought all these amazing connections together. Through blogs, Twitter, Facebook - there are so many ways to keep close with others and so many ways to share compassion.

Doctor helps "bake it" all better

I am not exactly sure how I stumbled upon this article, but it is great.

Check it out:  Doctor prescribes recipe to heal a heavy heart.