Giving back.

As you may remember (or not) a while ago I posted about how I would like to start "paying it forward", otherwise known as performing random acts of kindness.

It has been a daily weekly occurrence in my (our) lives since then. I have done a few things that I feel very warm & fuzzy inside from...and even though I know the main idea of doing good for others is to do them unseen and without mention, there are those acts that do deserve a little mention...you know...to give others some ideas of what they could also do to change a life. I will list my top 3 favorite acts of random kindness:

Act # 3 - Coleton's teacher sends home work (home-work) for me to do to help her when she's overwhelmed. Since I can't help her during school, this is what I was able to offer instead. Recently, she sent home 3 packs of 500 ct. lined paper & 30 folders. My instructions were to punch holes in the paper & put about 50 sheets in each folder. No problem. EXCEPT...the hold puncher she gave me must have been from the 19th century and punched MAYBE 3 sheets at a time & jammed after every punch. I ran to staples, bought an industrial hole puncher (which could punch 20 sheets at a time) and send it back to school with the finished folders. She was very grateful.

Act # 2 - As I was at Target one day, waiting in line to pay, there was a Mom & her son (about 8 years old) in front of me. I overheard the son telling his mom that his sister was going to love what he picked out for her. As it was his turn to pay, the boy ransacked his pocket for a $5 bill that he intended on using, but had obviously lost somewhere in the store. He began to cry. After lecturing her son about how he should have cared better for his money, she offered to buy it instead, but he insisted that HE wanted to pay for it. Wouldn't you know it...I had a $5 bill in my pocket (which in itself is a miracle because I NEVER carry cash), so I handed it to him and asked him if he dropped it. He was so happy, and his mom gave me a mother to mother look that said more than a million thank yous. The little boy was beaming as he paid for his sister's present. I literally fought back tears of pride.

Act # 1 - Paige, Coleton & I went to visit a nursing home yesterday. We stopped at the dollar store to pick up a few items to put in bags for presents, because I knew that many of the women we were going to visit had no family or visitors. We just put a card, a 4x6 frame, a Christmas washcloth & loofah in the bags. When we got to the nursing home, we were all SO excited. I was given a list of women who are unable to leave their rooms, or who are just uncomfortable. I didn't know how many people we were going to visit, but we had 8 gift bags.

The first woman on our list was Louise. She was so sweet. She told us that she has 3 kids, 4 grand-children & 7 great-grand children. She was from Missouri, so we talked a little about how different the weather was. Paige & Coleton helped her open her gifts, and were very sweet by informing her of what each gift was. She was pretty weak, so we only stayed for a few minutes. Plus, she was watching Judge Judy, and I didn't want to interrupt her routine!

The 2nd lady we visited was Dianne. Dianne looked as though she had suffered a stroke, and making words was difficult. None-the-less, she was so happy, and shook her head to answer every question. Her son was there with her, which was great to see. Dianne was overjoyed that she received a Christmas present, and was so thankful. I certainly didn't want to take away time from her son's visit, so we chatted for a little while and then left.

The 3rd (and my favorite) lady we chatted with was Freda. As we were walking to Freda's room, there was a frail little lady in a wheelchair scooting down the hall by using her cane & feet. We gave her a big smile & said hello. When we reached Freda's room, there was no one there. The little lady that we saw in the hall said, "Do you mean to tell me you're here to see me?" We said, "Yes! We're here to visit you."

"Well, come on in! Have a seat."

Freda didn't have any kids, but she told us that she had a lot of nieces & nephews that call her regularly without fail. She was from Minnesota. Freda was in great health, except she was very hard of hearing. I felt like we were shouting the whole time, but she could barely hear us! She was so surprised to get a present, and told us that she hadn't received a gift for years. Paige surprised me when she told Freda that we would give her a picture of them (the kids) to put in the frame the next time we came to visit. Even though we didn't do much with the other 2 ladies, we came prepared with Christmas books & easy games to play. I asked Freda if she would like to play a game. She said that she would play if Coleton would show her how. We chose Connect Four, since it was simple and had bold colors & large pieces that Freda could hold. Coleton is very very very soft spoken, and even though I kept reminding him that Freda was hard of hearing, he couldn't speak loud enough. After I explained the game, Freda played with Coleton. She was so cute...and kept asking for advice as to where she should put her piece. After she beat Coleton, she played against Paige. Wouldn't you know it...she beat Paige too! She was very pleased with herself.

After we put the game away, I asked Freda if she would like Coleton to read her a story. She said yes, but that she'd better get closer to him. Coleton began to read a story about how snowmen come to life at night, but I could tell Freda was frustrated because she couldn't hear Coleton's little voice. I started to ask her if she made snowmen when she was little, which sparked an amazing trip down memory lane for her. She told us how she lived close to lakes & loved to sled, ski & ice skate. She made snowmen, snow angels, and had so much fun. She asked Coleton & Paige if they liked to make snowmen, and even though they've only ever played in the snow ONCE in their lives, they both said yes. I think Freda forgot that we were in Arizona.

Freda said that her favorite Christmas memory was that every Christmas morning her brother couldn't resist rubbing his whiskers on her face. She said that her dad used to tell her, "Boy Freda, your brother sure does love you." and she would say, "No he hates me because he always scratches my face." She said that now she realizes that it really was love, and that Christmases were so full at her house with all of the relatives. Family was so important. She said that she was so sad for children these days because so many of them don't know what family is. Then Freda said, "I had forgotten about those memories until just now. Thank you."

I asked Freda if it would be OK with her if we came to visit again in a month or so. She said, "Oh yes. When you can dear." She was so thankful that we came to see her & kept thanking us & wishing us a merry Christmas.

As we left the nursing home, there were several ladies sitting around in their wheelchairs, so I told Paige & Coleton to hand out the rest of the gift bags. One lady in particular was "shocked" as she got her gift. She wasn't able to speak well, and I felt so so so horrible as I tried in vain to understand what she was trying to say. I told her that Santa told me she had been an extra good girl this year and asked me to give her a gift. Her mouth opened wide and her eyes looked a child's on Christmas morning.

Words can NOT describe the joy that flowed through our hearts yesterday as we played Santa to these women. It was the most gratifying thing I have done in YEARS, and I am SO THANKFUL that I was able to share it with Paige & Coleton, and even more grateful that they both enjoyed it as much as I did...and that they both want to make it a monthly occurrence.

May these stories fill your heart with joy and warmth as the experiances did mine.

Merry Christmas!