29 Days of Kindness: Days 4 through 29

Well here we go.  Today I am 29 years old, and let's just say that I epically failed at successfully completing 29 acts of kindness in 29 days.  But I did the best I could, and it certainly helped me focus on the positive aspects of life, while hopefully reminding others that there is still good in this world.  I will state below some of the things I did (or at least what I remember doing since it's been so long since my last post), focusing on the ones that moved me the most.

- Paid for the person behind me in line at Chick-fil-A.  Now this was fun because the car behind me was actually two separate orders... so yes, I paid for both :) and I think that counts for 2 acts.
- Purchased items to go towards homeless care packages to keep in my car.  I hate when I don't have any cash on me, and I always want to do more than just give a homeless person a couple bucks, so once those are put together, it will be nice to have them and give them away.
- Signed up for a "3k color run" at my bosses' daughter's school.  I don't think I'll be able to actually run the color run, but the money goes towards the school.
- Picked up dog poop at my apartment complex that another resident didn't pick up.
- Got coffee for my technician after a rough morning of patient care.
- Brought cookies to the office to share.
- Spent time on freerice.com and donated around 500 grains of rice.
- Texted friends just to say that I was thinking about them and hoped that they had a good day.
- Checked in on a patient (who I actually consider a friend) who was being tested for potentially difficult diagnosis. All came back negative! YEAH :)
- Moved stuff from my neighbor's apartment and donated the items to Good Will.  She moved across country and couldn't fit everything in her car for the move, so she had to purge a lot.  She tried to sell things on Craig's list, but many items didn't sell.  I took them to Good Will for her so she wouldn't have to since she ran out of time.
- Donated to the NC Disaster Relief fund to help those who suffered any damage from Hurricane Matthew.
- Ran the Ardmore RAH (Run Against Hunger) 10k race on the day before my birthday and ended up running a great time, finishing first in my age group (25-29 YO female) with a time of 49:42. A single 10k registration provided 238 meals for the NC food bank. 


I saved my favorite story for last, since it's the one act of kindness that truly brought tears to my eyes:

I purchased two $5 Starbucks gift cards to give to the police officers who live in my apartment complex.  I knew we had a couple from the cop cars that are always parked outside, but I did not know which specific units the officers lived in.  I didn't feel comfortable leaving the cards under the windshield wipers of the cop cars, especially if it were to rain before they got to them.  I decided to bring them to the front office and have the manager e-mail the officers to let them know there was something waiting for them at the leasing office.  I walked in on a Wednesday afternoon I had off to give them to Patty.  I told her what I was doing, and she looked behind her at the business center for residents at my apartment.  There was one young lady sitting at one of the computers.  Patty turned back to me and said, "Well there's one police officer right there if you want to hand it to her in person."  What incredible, God-given timing! I was able to walk up to her, thank her in person for her service, and hand her the card myself.  Turns out her husband is also a police officer, so I gave her both cards to thank them.  I could barely keep it together when handing her the cards because a police officer's service means so much!  It was definitely a special opportunity to be able to give it to her in person.

Cards for police officers in my apartment complex. 

So that's a wrap.  And now begins the countdown to thirty.  Thank you everyone for your birthday wishes! xo

29 Days of Kindness: Days 2 and 3

Yesterday (Day 2) was so special.  I called my dad's mom.  I feel terrible that I'm always so busy, and I rarely pick up the phone to talk to her myself.  I usually only talk with her when I'm with my family and we call her together.  But yesterday, I took it upon myself to call her just to say hello.  She seems to be doing very well in her daily life.  My family gave her a digital display picture frame a while back, and she told me that it's sitting on her coffee table.  She absolutely adores pictures, and with the digital display, she gets to see multiple pictures in one frame.  We talked about my dog, my sister's kids, and work.  It was just a blessing to hear how happy she was to hear from me.

Today (day 3), I'm going to count something I've already been doing for a week and will be doing for another 14 days. The PTSD press up challenge. The challenge goes like this: you post a video to Facebook of you doing 22 push ups every day for 22 days straight to raise awareness to the statistic that 22 veterans commit suicide every day. Well, I want to take today to highlight the fact that it's not only veterans who suffer from PTSD. Any traumatic situation can lead to PTSD, and the recovery period can be long and brutal. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who suffers - the struggle is real no matter how hard the struggle. The number of push ups and the number of days may represent a statistic, but the persistence that is required to complete the challenge mimics the persistence of someone suffering from this condition. You can view day eight of my challenge on my Facebook page. Peace to all the sufferers of PTSD and any other mental health struggle. Just like you, I am a warr;or. 

29 Days of Kindness: Day 1

Well. It has been quite some time since my last post.  I got out of the habit of writing in order to take care of me, but today, I am getting back into it, and for very good reason.  In 29 days, I will be 29 years old.  This is my last opportunity to make the most of my 20s.  To be honest, my 20s have easily been my least favorite decade.  More ups and downs than many; however, I am very aware that my life overall has been quite blessed.  I'm ready to round out my 20s with positivity, and I look forward to all that my 30s will have to offer.

I have been thinking about doing something big for my 30th, but with everything that's gone down, I decided to do it now instead of waiting a year in order to help me focus on the good instead of the bad.  The thing: 29 random acts of kindness for 29 days.  I know that is a lot to ask of myself, and I was definitely thinking of not doing it, but then this morning, God gave me opportunity number one on day number one.  Therefore, I decided to pick my blog back up and kick it off with a new series: 29 Days of Kindness.

Day 1:
This morning, I was walking back to my car from a friend's apartment downtown.  I had my dog with me, and I saw a lady walking behind me with a couple of large bags on her shoulders.  She approached me, asking for money.  She was obviously homeless and had a large wound on her hand that was covered with a bandaid.  She had glasses on her face that were visibly scratched on one lens.  I'm not normally one to give out money, so I usually don't carry any cash with me.  I had a small purse, and I opened it up to look inside, assuming I wouldn't have any cash, and would be able to prove to her that I didn't.  When I opened it, I had about $4, so I gave it to her.  All she asked for was enough money for a meal.  I know it wasn't enough, and I surely hope she did indeed use it for some food.  I have no way of knowing, but I did what I felt was right in the moment.  I wasn't even thinking of it as a random act of kindness in the moment, but later I realized that this was day 1 of the 29 days, and that opportunity came to me.  God wants me to see this one through.  I think it will be good for me.  I need more positivity in my life, so here we go.  There are no set plans, no set rules, and no set budget.  Stayed tuned for more updates, and may my goal of seeking out ways to make someone's day better make your day better as well.