To be honest, I've wrestled way more with this than I needed to over the last twenty-four hours, and I found myself falling into a few traps. The main one was that I started to try to think of someone who "deserved" something special, then realized that defeated the point! I want to spread love to all, not just those who "deserve" it! I also found that the more I thought about what I wanted to do, the more I worried that people would think I was crazy, and I stressed about how I would explain why I was giving away what I was giving if I got "caught".
The act itself was completely uneventful. We had some Regal Cinemas gift cards that were given to us as a Christmas gift, but hadn't used yet. I used a blank card I had, wrote "Please enjoy a movie on us.", and enclosed the gift cards. On the way to pick up the kids, I left it in the stroller on the doorstep of a family who lives down the street from us. They have three young children, kindergarten and under. I've said hi to them many times, but have never officially met them, so they qualify as strangers ;-).
All in all, the first Therapeutic Thursday went off well. Those of you who have joined me on this adventure, please comment below with your stories. I'm hoping that we will all be inspired by what others have done, and may even get some ideas of our own from your adventures.
I don't really know my neighbors so today I bought a $5 bouquet of flowers and left it at the door of one of my neighbors with a card that said, "I was thinking how sad it is that I don't really know my neighbors. I hope these flowers brighten your day," and signed my name. I was nervous but it was fun. I hope she enjoys the flowers.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great idea! I'm glad you went out of your comfort zone. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a new friend out of the deal :-).
DeleteI had a busy day helping my mother. Appointment made with the VA in Salem, Wifi back up and running in her new apartment, Chromebook up and running, and sister Sue took her to an audiologist who calibrated her hearing aids. I'm not sure if any of this was in the "random acts" category, but my mother sure benefited!
ReplyDeleteI think I'll be trying to find a random act or two to try tomorrow when it's not quite so busy.
WOW, that's a lot of helping! Grandma may not be a stranger, but I'd say you definitely qualified in the spreading of love department!
DeleteI thought my previous post was my RAK for the day, but I had been asking God all day to show me someone I could bless. I was fixing dinner and I looked out the kitchen window overlooking the walking path behind our house. I noticed a young woman sitting on the bench for a really long time. I finally decided I had to go out and make sure she was okay. She wasn't. She was in town with a group of door-to-door Kirby salespeople and she became ill. She decided to sit on the bench and wait for her team, but they must have found some customers because they were taking a long time. She was having severe stomach pains and difficulty walking. I offered to take her somewhere, but she thought she should wait where her team could find her. So I invited her in, gave her a cup of tea, and recharged her cell phone
ReplyDeleteThat is such a cool story, Mom. LOVE IT!!
DeleteI will probably never see her again.
ReplyDeleteAnd she will probably never forget you.
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