Kindness Assist

Day 132

I've learned a thing or two about kindness these past few months, so when my husband asked for help with something having to do with being kind, I practically hurt myself jumping up to offer my assistance. Finally, my chance to shine.

He is an eighth teacher and will be going back to school soon. This week he received the list of all his students, along with their information, which included their birth dates. He said that, in the past, he has tried to send birthday cards throughout the year to all his homeroom students. But inevitably, he would forget someone, or towards the end of the year, stop doing it altogether.

Kindness queen to the rescue! This is what you need to do, I said. (And he just loves when I tell him what to do. Lives for it really.) Get the cards today, write them out, address the envelopes, put stamps on and have them all set to go. And he did.

This is one of the most important lessons I have figured out doing this project. When one has a thought about doing something kind, like send a card, or give a compliment, or drop off that bag of clothes for a charity, if it doesn't get done within 24 hours of the thought, chances decrease greatly that it ever will.

I absolutely believe that most people are kind and well intended, and I am certainly no kinder than the next person. But so often we think we are too busy, or we are procrastinators by nature. Our thoughts don't get translated into actions. The 24 hour rule of kindness has gotten me better than a third of the way to my goal. Hopefully, it will carry me the rest of the year.