Friday, February 26, 2016

Do Something Nice For Someone

I went to Jackson's school today and it was awesome. It is always awesome and I say it every time. Kindergartners are the best. They are kind and funny and inquisitive. They bring such a fresh perspective on what's important in life.

My favorite part is that many of them give me the biggest hugs. If you know me then you know that I am a hugger. I may never be able to run for political office because I like to hug people. When I walk into the class, several of the kindergartners rush up and give me great BIG hugs. We tried to stop them because not everyone likes to be touched and hugged but we gave up. I told their teacher that I don't mind and I guess she felt like that it was okay then.

Those hugs brighten my week. Their little minds at work and their exciting stories about their favorite things make me so happy. I schedule myself time every week to go to school. It's the best part of my week and when I leave, I am not nearly as anxious or stressed or uptight as I was when I walked in.

Those kids do something nice for me every week. Not something tangible but they make me so unbelievably happy and when I don't visit, I don't feel the same.

What do you do that is nice for others?

What every day activities do you do that bring happiness to others? I'm not talking about the obvious stuff. It's great if you volunteer your time or donate to causes and I give you kudos for doing so because I do both and they make me happy too.

But, what do you that's just nice?

I have a few thoughts of things we could do for others:
1. Have some patience. Instead of emailing and calling and emailing about something, take a breath and realize that the recipient may be having a busy day or week (aren't we all soooo busy all the time????). Consider that maybe they are overwhelmed with any number of things and that they'll get to your request when they can. Consider how you feel when someone badgers the heck out of you for something...I'm betting it irritates the fire out of you but maybe not and maybe you don't mind.
2. Put down your phone. Instead of spending entire meetings, conversations, and more with your face turned down to your phone and not making eye contact, put down the phone. In a meeting? Maybe the person leading the meeting or presenting to you worked really hard on the agenda or their presentation. Maybe they need you to pay attention to validate their work. Maybe they need you to pay attention so that you can make informed decisions. Or maybe they just need you to have the courtesy to give them your attention because if you don't then no one else in the room will do so.
3. Smile. Make eye contact with people and give them a smile. Maybe that guy in the hall has had the crappiest week ever and he just needs a positive nudge. Or, maybe that mom in your office has had the most challenging week with her kids. Instead of angry little faces, it would probably make her day for someone to just smile at her. I've always like the idea of setting up a high five station on the greenway on a Saturday and just giving high fives to people as they run by. No real reason except to give them encouragement and recognition for their miles. Stay tuned...that may just become a reality. ;)
4. Invite someone for a drink or dinner. The parents that never get out...ask them to go out. Now, you can't do it on Friday afternoon and expect them to be available Friday night (unless they have a nanny or a thousand available babysitters) but set something up for a few weeks out. Call the friends you haven't seen in ages and ask them over for dinner. Doesn't have to be fancy. Just a time to catch up (with the phones out of sight). Ask the new guy or gal at the office if they'd like to meet up with their significant other and then take them to a few fun downtown restaurants or bars.
5. Send a note in the mail. A few years ago, a very thoughtful friend did a "Thank You" note writing project. I still have the note he sent to me. It was probably the greatest piece of mail that I've received. It wasn't the standard Christmas card (but I do love pictures of your beautiful families) but it was just a note of thanks for my friendship and support. It was unexpected and it made me cry happy tears.

Let's get back to being kind to one another. We aren't nice to one another these days. Watch the news. You can't argue. Fine, you're nice to your close circle but I am talking bigger than those people that you see every single day. And heck, maybe we could be nicer to those folks too.

I fully admit that I have my moments but I try very hard to consider other people around me when making choices on how I am going to behave. There are a lot of days that I just smile and smile when I would rather cry and bury myself under my covers and never come out again. I could choose to be hateful but I either keep to myself or choose to be kind.

Ask any of my old restaurant friends, I could be a bit aggressive and ruthless but I left that gal on the expo line years ago. I've threatened to break fingers over under-cooked food....I could choose to bring her back out on my bad days but I don't because I don't want to treat others badly.

So, going into the weekend, think about what you can do for others that would make them happy. Let's set a goal to do something nice for someone else. When you do, it will make you feel like a million dollars.

Happy weekend!

A Weight Lifted

I started this blog when Jackson was a baby with the intent to write about everyday life with kiddos. There are tons of books out there on r...