#15: Another free toll

I am not creative.  But a kind act is a kind act, right?  I was driving down GA 400 again Monday, and I decided to pay for another car's toll.  When I told the cashier to keep my change and use it to pay for the next car, she didn't blink an eye.  I'm hoping that means that these acts are becoming much more common!

Sorry, no photos this time!  I was driving with my kids in the back seat, so there way no way to safely take a picture.  You will have to trust me!

#14: Free Bagels!

Leaving coupons for strangers is such a fun and easy way to perform an act of kindness.  Today we ate at Goldberg's, so I pulled out my $5 off coupon.  I noticed that there was a second coupon for "Buy 12 bagels, get 6 free", and we weren't going to use it.

I brought the coupon to the bagel counter and asked the bagel man to give the coupon to the next customer ordering bagels.  To my surprise, he got really excited!  I think he said something like "That is great!  I will tell the next person that a nice lady left this coupon.  Wait, do you want to wait here a minute?  You can watch me give it to the next person."  I was excited that he was excited, so I asked him if I could take his picture with the coupon.

I told him that I didn't want to wait because I didn't want the recipient to know it came from me.  He promised he would help me carry out my act of kindness, and I trust that he did. :)

#13: Cheering Up a Friend

My favorite way to perform an act of kindness is to "stumble upon" an opportunity.  Since I started this project, I have looked for things to do (such as give blood) when nothing presented itself naturally.  Act #13 was awesome because it involved a close friend and the act of kindness just fell into place.

My friend, Heather, had been posting on Facebook recently that her son, Jackson, was having health issues.  He was just diagnosed with a kidney problem and was on steroid medication for three months.  Because the medication suppresses his immune system, he had to stay home during the 2.5 week winter break while all his friends were going out of town, to playdates, and to camp.  It was too risky for him to go out in public and possibly catch a cold or something even worse.  I know he was bored and lonely.  Trust me, keeping a five year old home for two weeks is not fun for the parent or the child.

I wanted to do something nice for Jackson, so I tried to think of what would be most appreciated.  I thought back to the time when I broke my leg in first grade.  I had a plaster cast from my toes to the top of my thigh.  I'm sure I was in pain and miserable at first.  But that is not the part of the experience that I remember.  My most vivid memory of my broken leg experience was the numerous visitors who came to my bed bringing me gifts and candy.  I had no idea what I did to deserve all of the attention.  It was fabulous.  Who knew all a kid needed to do for extra presents was break a leg?

So back to Jackson.  I emailed his mom and asked if I could come with my son (who is also good friends with Jackson) to bring him a gift and cheer him up.  We showed up with a couple treats and a couple toys.  The boys had a blast together, and I could tell that both Heather and Jackson appreciated the visit.  When we left, I felt so good that I made Jackson's winter break a little more fun.

We are all wishing Jackson a quick recovery! 

#12: Giving Blood

Giving blood is a truly anonymous, kind act for a stranger.  There is a Red Cross Blood Donation Center just a few minutes from my house, so I went there to give blood today.  It was a very easy way to do something nice for someone else.  The phlebotomist (yes, there a technical name for the person who draws your blood) joked that I should count this event as three acts since one pint of blood saves three lives.  However, I will not go easy on myself, and this will just count as one!

My one complaint is the time... I was there for an hour and a half, and only 20 minutes of that time was spent hooked up to the needle and blood bag (don't know the technical name for that one!).  I waited about 45 minutes because today was a very busy day at the donation center.  I had no idea that people just show up to donate blood on an ordinary day.  I have always donated at blood drives that come to a school or office building.  Then there was the always fun interview questions.  My favorite was "is it ok if I register you as a female?" 

As I was finishing, the staff was excited to hear that a reporter from the newspaper was there to take photos and do a story.  I have no idea why today was a newsworthy day at the Red Cross, but I will look in the paper tomorrow and find out.  I did not stick around to see what the reporter was looking to report on. :)

#11: Ongoing Donations

Today I received a call from the Humane Society of the United States.  They called because I made a donation for the pets affected by Hurricane Sandy in November, which was my stepmother's birthday gift.  This time they were asking for an ongoing monthly donation.  Every time I get a telemarketing call asking for money, I immediately say that I'm not interested, please remove me from the list, and hang up.

This time was different.  I am now looking for ways to complete my 26 acts of kindness.  We recently adopted a puppy, Coco, from the Atlanta Humane Society.  

I support all pet rescues and adoptions.  Why not commit to a monthly donation?

I told the woman on the phone that I would commit to $10 per month.  It felt really good to know that I am helping continually instead of just once.

#10: Free Lunch

I love reading others' stories on Twitter about their 26 acts of kindness (search using "#26acts"). People are so creative! I have stolen several ideas from reading their stories, including paying for a stranger's meal at a restaurant.

Today I took the kids to eat lunch with my brother at Roaster's in Sandy Springs. I saw a man eating alone at a table near us. Toward the end of our meal, I mentioned to my brother, Adam, that I was going to pay for that guy's meal as one of my acts of kindness. Adam turned around and looked at the man, and responded "He is wearing $300 boots. He doesn't need a free lunch."

I considered Adam's reasoning, but decided to pay for the man's lunch anyway. Even if this guy has plenty of money, he may be touched by the act of kindness and inspired to pay it forward in bigger ways than what I have been doing. Take my situation. A stranger paid for my $0.50 toll, and now I am donating much more than that in my 26 Acts project. 

And maybe the guy does not have any money left because he just spent his last $300 on a pair of boots; he would really appreciate the free lunch! :)

#9: Rounding Up

This act of kindness was unplanned. It was also small in monetary value, but it still counts because it is not something I would normally do. 

This morning we were at the mall when my daughter had an accident... (She warned me but we couldn't get to the restroom quick enough.) Unfortunately we did not have extra pants in the car (yes I know, lesson learned), so I bought her some new pants at JC Penney. Luckily it was the day after Christmas, so these new pants only cost me $3. :) Apparently JC Penney has a system where the customer is asked at each transaction if they would like to "round up" and donate the change to the Salvation Army. 

Normally when I am asked to donate to charities during a check out line, I say no. I don't know why I always say no, but I do. This time was different because I am much more conscious about helping others and donating to charitable causes.  My total was $3.18, and I said yes to rounding up to make the transaction an even $4. 

Now I know that this act of kindness was minimal in dollar amounts, but I am counting it because I would not have done this if not for my 26 Acts of Kindness project. I am going to make an effort to start saying yes more often.