So this year, I decided to not only celebrate during the entire month of August but also, I decided to pay it forward. 31 days of kindness. 31 days of doing something for someone else. I could drone on, but instead, I’ll just share each day with you.
Day 1. Gifted two e-books to readers.
Day 2. I held the door open for every person that I could and smiled at anyone I passed in the hall. (sometimes, this was not easy and I feared I looked like a scary clown). That night at the movies, I treated my friend to pop and popcorn.
Day 3. I bought my neighbor a bouquet of flowers.
Day 4. Okay. I failed today. I think life got the best of me.
Day 5. The kids wanted nachos for dinner, so nachos they got! Then, I went to sit with a friend at the baseball fields while her daughter tried out for a travel team. It was great to catch up!
Day 6. I surprised the owner of Vicky’s Ice cream, who has opened his shop so graciously to host all of my book signings, with some delicious treats from a bakery that I knew he loved. It was super cool to surprise him because he always does so much for others.
Day 7. my daughter informed me that she needed a fancy calculator for school, so off we went. I don’t know if any of this counts as doing something nice for others, but I felt quite generous shelling out 90 bucks for a darn calculator. Later, I got to enjoy an outdoor movie hosted by my neighbors. ( I have cool neighbors.)
Day 8. I surprised my son and took him out for ice cream. Double scoop even! Cotton candy flavor. (Yucka.)
Day 9. I mailed out a signed book to a fan.
Day 10. Girls night in! I had a few friends over and treated them to pizza. I also bought a few cards and actually HAND WROTE them and mailed them.
Day 11. I brought in some gum for a co-worker who kept forgetting hers. THEN, I was surprised and received a birthday gift from the two attorneys I work for! It was so great and unexpected that I literally had tears. (I’m sentimental.)
Day 12. MY BIRTHDAY!!! HOORAY!!!( Blarg. 45.)
Day 13. Yeah, I was still celebrating.
Day 14. I took the day off work to spend it with the kids. I made them a big breakfast of eggs bacon and toast, then I took my daughter to the store to get t-shirt tye-dye kits she’d been wanting.
Day 15. I was surprised at work with more gifts from my co-workers. That was super fun! Then, I randomly mailed some drawings to friends who I knew wanted them.
Day 16. I told my ex about $300 he could get through a lawsuit that he was eligible for! It’s like he won the lottery.
Day 17. Today I auctioned off a drawing for the Epilepsy Foundation of Michigan in honor of my niece, Ava. I donated 100% of the proceeds and was rewarded further when a friend wanted to help me reach my donation goal. I literally cried when he said he donated $150 to the cause and I surpassed my goal. Nice people rock!
Day 18. I went to the drive-thru for lunch and paid for the car behind me. The clerk at the drive-thru window had the BEST reaction! It was as if I bought HER lunch. It made my day!
Day 19. I picked up my dad from the hospital and took him home to my mom.
Day 20. I sent out the Auction winner’s picture and paid for shipping.
Day 21. I baked cookies the night before and brought them in today for co-workers. Chocolate chip. Nom nom.
Day 22. I bought my cousin a bottle of wine!
Day 23. Crap. I must’ve lost this day.
Day 24. I picked up my sister and brother in law from the airport. It felt good to save someone else from dealing with the traffic.
Day 25- 27 My vacation started! I finally took a long weekend away with my kids. It was amazing!
Day 28. My Dad had to have surgery, so I left work early to be with him and my mom, and then I invited my sister and her husband over for dinner.
Day 29. I ordered a Kindle fire for a dear friend’s daughter, (whose broke unexpectedly) and it arrived at her house today! HOORAY!
Day 30. Crap. Did I forget to write this one down?
Day 31. On the last day of the month, I decided to go out with a bang. Since I was born on the 12th, and there are 12 hours in a day, I decided to do something nice EVERY hour. Here goes:
8:30 Left packs of fun sour apple gum on my co-workers’ desks with a note.
9:30 Posted on social media about a job opening at the firm where I work.
10:32 Sent a funny meme to my friend to make her smile.
11:27 Sent a text to my dad who was in the hospital.
12:40 Invited a friend to come over on Saturday.
1:30 Sent an ebook out.
2:30 Clients brought in treats for US!
3:30 Sent a “thinking of you” text to a friend.
4:40 Ordered and arranged to have dinner delivered to a sick friend.
5:30 Called my mom.
6:30 Posted a new teaser in my fan club
7:30 Posted about giving out Advanced Reader Copies to interested readers.
8:30 Had drinks with a neighbor.
I think I am generally a kind person. I was brought up in a strict home where manners and courtesy were the only acceptable way to treat others. Your word was your bond, and a commitment is something to be held in the highest regard.
Was it always easy to think of others this month? Every single day? No.
We are inherently selfish people. I try to step outside of myself and think of others often. Empathy and compassion are skills that (sadly) I feel most adults lack. But, it was still a challenging interesting, and rewarding experience to think outside of the box and go beyond.
I am truly grateful I did this. And, although I may not always achieve the level of giving or thoughtfulness I’d like to in each day, I think that doing this experiment made me that much more aware of others and my affect on them; the ripples I make in the cosmic universe, so to speak. And, I was happily surprised when karma worked in my favor and rewarded me with some great acts of kindness, too!
I shall leave you the words my dad utters to me at the end of every phone call, or any time I leave his house: “Be good. Behave. Love you.”
Pass it on. The world needs it.