Ripples

When I was younger I wanted to be like my mother. I thought she was the most beautiful and fancy woman in the world. Before my tomboy years, I remember stepping into her closet and running my hands across all her pretty clothes, I would stick my little pudgy feet in her high heel shoes and daydream in the mirror, and sometimes, if I was being extra bold, I would get into her Mary Kay. I didn’t like lotion back then- my dad would slather us with Johnson & Johnson’s all the time and I hated it, he swore by it– but my Mom’s Oil of Olay was a lotion that I didn’t mind. It smelled wonderful, it smelled like the most elegant womanly woman in the world— and I loved it!

There are some things I do like my parents, there are actions of love that they have shown me throughout my life that have stuck with me. I always say I’m trying to do my best to raise good humans, I want to instill values, kindness, respect, and love for others in my kids. Often times parents do not give themselves the credit they deserve. We’re doing a good job and guess what, they notice! I see me in my kids, a lot! They do little things that make me smile and think, “Dean, you’re doing alright.”

Ripples of Kindness

This weekend they did it again, they WOWED me with their hearts, their kindness, and their love for others. For starters, all three of them took such good care of me when I wasn’t feeling well, and that was super sweet. But there are two other stories I want to tell you about.

While out for a quick drop in at the grocery store for something easy to cook for dinner and cough drops on Friday afternoon with my 13-year-old daughter, we saw an action figure marked down 75% off on clearance. Now obviously my 13-year-old daughter isn’t into action figures, but she thought we should get it. Her reasoning for wanting to purchase the action figure made me extremely happy, she wanted to give it away in a toy drive. “You know Christmas is coming, we could donate it, Momma.”

Same Friday, Different Kiddo

Later on that very same Friday, my newly 10-year-old daughter asked my husband and I if we could go supply shopping for Uganda on Saturday. We were both puzzled because we hadn’t heard anything about school supplies for Uganda, so we asked her what she was talking about. She told us a speaker came to their school, a man who travels around the world, he went to Uganda and they need school supplies. The emotion in her voice and in her face as she told us more was contagious, she was fired up to help and so were we.

Saturday we headed out to Michael’s and bought a few supplies there. When we got back home my daughter ran upstairs to get her old backpack (she just got a new monogrammed one for her birthday, this month) and put the supplies in it. She then turned to us and said, “The kids in Uganda don’t have very many books. Can I please give them some of our books?”  Umm yeah! Give ’em all the books, you sweet little creature!! I didn’t say that, but boy that’s how I felt. She just made me so proud. My daughter filled the backpack with books and came down and began to draw a picture for the children in Uganda. She was trying relentlessly to draw an elephant, because in her own words.. elephants are a symbol of peace.

I found this quote and thought it fit well:

Like a drop in the vast ocean, each of us causes ripples as we move through our lives. The effects of whatever we do – insignificant as it may seem – spread out beyond us. We may never know what far-reaching impact even the simplest action might have on our fellow mortals. Thus we need to be conscious, all of the time, of our place in the ocean, of our place in the world, of our place among our fellow creatures. -Margaret Weis

Maybe, just maybe, I caused this lovely generosity in my babies or maybe it was the acts of kindness from others. Parents, they’re watching. People, they’re watching! They are seeing us and hearing us, and they are mirroring us. They may even be getting into your Mary Kay as we speak. Is Mary Kay still a thing?

Let’s go cause ripples!

I want to remind you that I’m still doing my Kindness Challenge, please, please, please come to join me! I’m giving away some fun prizes to one kindhearted soul. 🙂 Your act of kindness does NOT have to be big or cost money.