Random Acts of Kindness for My Birthday
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I did not have a very good birthday last year (and really, it was all my fault). My husband had a charity board meeting that night and I discovered when he got home that he did not have a birthday dinner planned. "Want to go to {our local dive bowling joint} for gluten-free pizza?" Clearly the man did not know me well, as my birthday is usually synonymous with martinis, sparkles and glitz. And he did not have a card. This from the man who had arranged an entire birthday trip to Hawaii (!) the year before aka he is usually super thoughtful and waaaay too nice to me.
Two really good friends who live many states away called randomly on my birthday - but gave no mention to it being my birthday. I give them credit, as I think their subconscious was saying "call her, it's her birthday", but it still sucked. I ended up sullen, crabby and feeling bad for myself and THEN I felt bad that I felt bad - I should be thrilled to see another year of life! I have known far too many people who died way too young to not be incredibly thankful for the gift of another birthday. I made the decision the next day that I would never spend another birthday in such a bad mood and would not rely on others to make my birthday special. Honestly, at that point, I probably swore that I was going back to Hawaii for my birthday. Or maybe to the Bahamas to have another one of the One & Only Ocean Club's AMAZING Pina Coladas (which I apparently drank too fast to photograph). But in late 2011, I changed my mind. |
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Instead, I decided that I would go back to what makes me happy - giving back to the community and putting a smile on the faces of others - and turn my birthday into an opportunity to give back. A few months ago I set a weight loss goal and asked friends and family to pledge $2 per pound loss towards my "Random Acts of Kindness Birthday" fund. I also started to set aside any promotional Target Gift Cards for the cause. A few months, 20+ pounds and WAY too many Target ad "deals" later, I am happier, healthier and have a nice slush fund to apply to my day of good deeds. |
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I will be sharing what I did for my Random Acts of Kindness Birthday as the events occur later this week. If you happen to be feeling super nice, please consider doing a Random Act Of Kindness this week for a friend, family member or complete stranger in honor of this glutenista's birthday. Trust us - you most often get back WAY more than you give. In the meantime: We would LOVE to hear your ideas - what has someone done out of the blue to be nice to you that you really enjoyed? What have you done for others? |
