For the month of January, I had a goal: to be kinder to myself, to those I love, and to strangers.
I turned 33 on January 30, 2013. Given the absurdly high number of 3's--I found a theme! I decided to commit consciously to the following over that month:
1) 33 acts of kindness towards myself
2) 33 acts of kindness towards those I love/respect
3) 33 acts of kindness towards those I don't know well or strangers.
4) On my birthday, commit 33 acts of kindness--of any kind, towards any of the above!
My two most notable acts of kindness from the month are these:
a) I bought myself a couch that is better for my posture because it doesn't drown me/hunch me over in cushioning. I love it dearly. I sit straighter, my back pain nearly disappeared, and it's easy to get out of it. Perfection!
b) On the way home from work, I saw a big, black dog in the middle of the HIGHWAY. I pulled over into a turning lane and managed to get him into my car. He is such a doll--one of the friendliest dogs I'd ever met. I swear to goodness he was intent on being my boyfriend--so I named him Beau.
--He clearly had a hard life before he found the way into the middle of the 5 lane highway and into my car. He has several large bumps of scar tissue, some a full inch in diameter, that run in a line through the middle of his face and up across the top of his head. He is a pit bull mix. He is big, black, and not neutered yet. Even one of these factors would be a deterrent for most people to adopt him, and the area is drastically overrun with companion animals. There is no shelter within a 1.5 hour radius that has a "no-kill" philosophy. So I took Beau in as my project! Got his shots, and I'm keeping him in boarding because my crazy pup can't handle sharing her turf just yet. I will find this sweetheart a home!
On to the goodies. My birthday. I must confess here that I was *hoping* to run across opportunities to help others without much planning, mostly because I had a 3 hour class to teach AND birthday celebration plans for the evening. 33 acts of anything are difficult to fit into that schedule! Also, many of these acts of kindness were often an act of kindess to myself and others. Here's a list of the first twelve acts of kindness from that day towards people who are, in some senses, "strangers" (and a few to myself), in no particular order:
1) Given my introverted proclivites, I want to run home and decrompress after every class I teach with a quiet, bright electronic rectangle in front of my face for at least two hours. Instead, I made sure to visit with colleagues in the English department! We shared laughs, and I met our new fantastic department secretary. Splendid.
2) While visiting with the English folks, I ran into my boss from the Writing Center, Shelley! Not only did we have a nice visit, but I was able to help her proof-read and fine-tune a grant application for a VERY cool program. This program will help us bring...are you ready? SANDRA CISERNOS to CLOVIS Community College! AND Jimmy Santiago Baca is coming back to premiere his film. Crazy times! We "squeed" for several minutes. haha!
3) While I endeavor to have patience with every student with whom I speak, I admit that on some days I'm more successful and encouraging than others. Several students needed patience, comfort, and encouragement today, and I made sure to give it to each of them. One student was worried about his success due to being out of school for several years thanks to incarceration. I made sure to tell him that his hard work, dedication, and enthusiasm in class did not go unappreciated. He seemed deeply thankful to have my ear and my feedback.
4) I let class out 10 minutes early. Kindness to all involved. :) The entire class clapped, said "Happy Birthday," and left beaming!
5) Also, I agreed to accept two papers late, which I never do unless I'm told in advance. We'll see if my lenience was a good investment or not!
Also, I took time to walk a student through an assignment I had already twice explained despite being hungry/tired.
6) I have several heroes in Clovis--and many of them are the people who endeavor to rescue animals and treat them kindly because there is such a horrific lack of infrastructure to deal with an "excess" companion animal population. The Animal Control Officers deal with abusive owners, catching sweet dogs and cats, and ultimately putting them to sleep. Somehow, despite all of this, they care for animals deeply and their caring is evident to anyone who walks through the doors of their office. As such, I brought them $10 gift cards for a coffee and lunch spot in town (Coffee Bistro) and gave them some baked goodies as well. The officer who accepted the gifts was very appreciative and said that the officers would feel grateful, but I was the one who cried! I simply can't comprehend the work that they must do, and it made me feel good to recognize them for it in a small way.
7) I went to a local restaurant in town to pick up my lunch. I ran into a former student who had been humiliated in her recent English class by an instructor who told her that "asking a hypothetical question that way is an improper use of second person." While true, it was apparent that the teacher's tone was excessively harsh. I hugged the student, reminded her of how well she'd done in my class, and encouraged her to let haters be her motivators. :) I think it made her feel a bit better, but I wish that I could have a word with that instructor!
8) At the same restaurant, I gave the host a $10 tip. I've seen him several times around, and it's apparent that he can't serve yet. I explained my birthday goals of kindness to him, and he seemed flabbergasted. "wait, aren't you supposed to have people do nice things for you on your birthday?!" he exclaimed. I responded that he was helping me out by spreading good energy around, and that was the best gift I could ask for on "my" day.
9) As I've been incredibly busy, I haven't had time to spread word about Beau, the dog I mentioned above. I took the time on my birthday to make a facebook post about him. No inquiries yet--any takers on such a sweetheart?!
10) This "act" of kindness is actually several small ones grouped together. I made sure to meet each and every person who crossed my path today with a genuine, heartfelt smile and verbal greeting. I received many hearty smiles and greetings in return.
11 and 12) --this two are probably in my top 3 favorites from today.
After I picked up lunch, I decided that I could treat myself to some sugar-free, stevia sweetened frozen yogurt, BEFORE I even had my lunch. I got my yogurt ready, put some banana and a few boba on it, and walked up to the counter.
I saw a woman and her significant other just about to pay for their yogurt--he was waiting at the register, and she was finishing up at the toppings bar. I greeted the gentleman who was about to pay, and said "And, if it's okay with you, I'd like to cover this."
He was almost visibly taken aback at first. I explained my birthday acts of kindness goals, and he, albeit hesitantly, agreed to let me pay.
The woman finished her yogurt and put it on the scale. When her total was read, she was surprised to see me reach for my credit card to pay for it. I explained everything to her, and she said "But, are you sure?! It's not just our yogurt! We have five kids over there, too!"
I smiled, laughed, and said "the more the merrier! In fact, that makes this treat even more delicious!"
She burst into grateful tears, and her partner started smiling. And--get this-- she told me that IT WAS HER BIRTHDAY, TOO!
She has 3 daughters and two sons. The oldest looked to be about seventeen, and the youngest was still in a baby carrier. Each of them, once they found out that I'd paid the tab, gave me a huge smile and ran up to hug me. I could tell they thought I'd made their mom's birthday that much more special, and, I have to admit, it was way more fun eating yogurt with them. All of the kids names started with "T," too, which was really fun!
Best $18 I've ever spent!
Oh, and the woman working behind the counter got such a kick out of my birthday mission that when I tried to pay for my own yogurt, she waved me off, saying "no, you're good. That's such a great birthday goal!" I tried to pay once more, of course, but she'd have none of it.
DELICIOUS.
the remaining 21 kindness acts will be posted later! This entry is long enough. :)
