Presents

'Someone' seems to think they are a piece of art. I'm not naming names.

OHMYGOSH! You guys...I am an undiscovered genius. I kid you not, I did not even realize that it is actually RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK when I wrote this post. Seriously. Ok, read on...

So listen to this. In the past two weeks, I've gotten two tiny little surprise presents in the mail. The first, a pair of socks from my sister-in-law. This is them:

And the other? This little 'writer emergency pack' from my husband. (Which I clearly opted not to use today.)

Tiny little things, yes. But HUGE impact! Both things MADE MY DAY.

Maybe it's because of the grey, grey, grey weather we are experiencing in the Northeast, but I was definitely feeling in need of a pick-me-up. (The weather is seriously awful. I like grey as a color but as an atmosphere? Positively dismal.)

COMPLETELY UNRELATED: There's actually a movie called 'The Grey' with Liam Neeson and it's about these wolves who are hunting these guys and Liam Neeson is the only wolf expert and the whole movie is cold and dark and depressing. And grey. 

And while we don't have wolves or plane crashes (there is a plane crash too...I'm totally spoiling the movie for you), or Liam Neeson, we have a seemingly unending supply of GREY.

It's depressing. But both of these presents were so thoughtful and fun that my mood was instantly better. 

And here's the thing. I don't really have anything going wrong. Sure, it's grey. And I could use a haircut and a babysitter and a day to myself, but really, life is good. If these little things could put a pep in my step, how much more could they do for someone who was actually having a hard time?

Coincidentally, as I was receiving presents, I read about this amazing thing that Jenny Lawson (the Bloggess...and yes, I did just mention her last week) did...she held a booksgiving. The idea was to get her book into the hands of people who wanted or needed it but who couldn't get it, but the whole thing blew up and people were buying books for strangers all over the place. Read about it...it was AH-MAZING. I love the idea of sending strangers books off of their wishlists. And I love the idea of getting them...so much fun!

Sometimes I think I don't have the energy or the time to do something like that. But it really takes so little. Especially when it's as easy as placing an order. And so, I'm making a little list of nice things to do for people to keep it front and center. I lie. I'm *COPYING* a list of really nice things to do for people and I'll adjust that list. This is the list**** (CLICK ME). 

Because my kids are huge fans of Kid President—and who isn't??—one of the first things I'm going to do is send him a card for the surgery he just endured. If you'd like to do so as well, click here for his Facebook page. Psst...here is a clip from Kid President because who can resist this?

For more ideas, check out the Random Acts of Kindness Website. 

As always, I'd love to hear your ideas. If you want to share one, or if you feel the need to do something too and want a different idea (I don't want to smack anyone over the head with ways they can be nice, but I know a few people who could especially use some niceness any day of the year, like this great guy), let me know. I've officially opened comments because no one could see my little suggestion box on their phones!


​***Number 76 on the list was to send a card to Danny Nickerson, a little boy who has since passed away from an inoperable brain tumor. However, his family just worked to raise money for Valentine's presents for other kids like Danny. My guess is they will do things like this in the future, so please keep them in mind.