Lets RAK November - Week 1

I read a blog where a woman did 30 Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) during the month of her birthday. It really inspired me and made me want to do something similar. I thought about it and decided I wanted to do 30 RAKs during the month of November. December has become so much about instant gratification, greed, over indulgence, etc. even if you try to limit holiday over indulgence in your own family the world around you doesn't comply. So, I've decided that I want this to be an annual tradition. As Maddy gets older I want her to help decide what RAKs we do, and help us do them as a family. I want it to teach her humility and goodwill toward others. Then, after a month of selfless acts we can be more appreciative of all the shiny, sweet, delicious, beautiful sights to see and treats to eat that are inevitable in the month of December.

These are my first week's RAKs:

RAK 1: There was a big winter storm the night of Oct. 31st, and we woke up to 10"-12" of snow. There is a handicapped man, and an elderly woman living in my apartment building. The last time it snowed I overheard them talking about how when it snows really heavy they feel stuck in their apartment because the task of clearing the snow from their cars is so overwhelming. So, early in the morning I cleared their cars for them.



RAK 2: I made Rolo pretzel turtles and brought them to the library across the street. We spend a lot of time at the library between checking out books and going to story time, so I wanted to show my appreciation to the librarians.



RAK 3: I taped quarters to the kiddie slots at Toys R Us. I remember asking my mom for quarters to get a bouncy ball, sticker, skittles, etc and imagine how awesome it'd be to be 6 years old and just see money there for me to use!! How cool!



RAK 4: I didn't get a picture of it, but I swept up all the fall leaves in the walkway and up to the door way of my neighbor, Lisa. She's kind of OCD about sweeping her doorstep and after the snow melted, all of the remaining tree leaves fell, and it was really windy. Our walk way was so full of leaves! I got Jeff's big push-broom and swept them all away. (Got a stupid splinter! THIS is why I don't do manual labor, people! ;) ) I'm hoping that she noticed when she got home from work, but haven't asked her about it.

RAK 5: I made pumpkin spice rice krispie treats for the apartment management. In comparison to other apartment horror stories I've heard from friends, and landlord horror stories we've lived ourselves, living in the apartment complex we live in has been a pretty enjoyable experience. The grounds are kept nice, if you have a repair request they fix it w/in 24 hours, they're always friendly when we go into the office to pick up a package or ask a question, and they try to make the complex feel like a community with events like holiday BBQs, swim parties, trick or treating for the kids, etc. So, I wanted to thank them.



RAK 6: There was a "help the homeless" event in my town over the weekend where the shelters asked for winter clothes for the homeless... but thanks to some awesome friends coming into town to visit us I missed it. I really wanted to donate some winter clothes, though, so I called around to a few shelters/outreach organizations until I found one that would take my donation. There was a brand new mens winter coat, two beanies, thermal longjohns and some fleece boot liners.

I know, I know... she's not wearing shoes. She was only standing there for 15 seconds.

RAK 7: I donated $7 on the 7th to the Liz Logelin Foundation.

"The Liz Logelin Foundation was established to assist families who find themselves in the heartbreaking, catastrophic situation of having lost a spouse, life-partner, and parent. The Foundation’s goal is to financially assist these families as they deal with the loss of their loved ones, and struggle to move forward. The Foundation was established in 2009 by Matthew Logelin, who lost his wife Elizabeth in 2008."
I've followed Matt's blog for 2.5ish years now and feel strongly that what he's doing for other families, through the LLF, and for his own daughter in the wake of his wife's unexpected passing is nothing short of amazing.
For more info: http://thelizlogelinfoundation.org/ and http://www.mattlogelin.com/

I've really enjoyed doing these RAKs, and look forward to the rest of the month. I'll post another RAK blog next week!! :)