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It’s All About The Giver!

I believe gifts are meant to be tokens of appreciation or recognition of the role someone plays in our life. We can’t dictate what the receiver does with our gift, though we can enjoy knowing we have given our time and thought into choosing a meaningful gift. Instead of waiting to see or hear how very much someone likes what we have given, we can remind ourselves that we are a giver. And the world loves givers!

It’s also important to remember that gifts can come from unexpected places and are not always things.


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Ode To Bus Drivers

They deliver our most precious cargo to school.
We trust them to get us there on time.
Their smile can get our day off to a good start.
Not a lot of glory comes their way.

Before departing your next bus adventure,
Give a few words of appreciation.
And teach children everywhere
To treat their bus drivers as the heroes they are!

 

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How Do You Thank Someone?

You know the feeling deep within. Someone just came to your door with a basket of warm cookies because they know you’re having a tough day. You narrowly escape your burning home while a firefighter goes back in to save your puppy. Or maybe it was a stranger who picked up all the spilled candy that your little darling scattered on the supermarket floor.

Sometimes we wish we had a word much stronger than “thanks” to convey our heartfelt appreciation. Perhaps by adding a sincere look or a tap on the arm, we can transfer our feelings of gratitude.

What else can we do to say thanks? I once gave a co-worker a post-it note with a word of thanks, and ten years later she told me it still could be seen on her refrigerator. Think back to a time when you really felt thanked for something you said or …
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Scatter Some Kindness on World Kindness Day!

November 13 is an international observance of World Kindness Day.  Will your scattering kindness make the world a better place?  I think so.

When a trash collector finds an anonymous note on his trash cart that says “you are appreciated” how will he feel? If it’s a cold, snowy evening and you come out of your office to find your car windows completely free of snow, how thrilled are you?

 It’s the little things we do that make our world a kinder place.  Who will you shower with kindness today?

(Photo by Random Acts of Kindness Foundation)

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No Child Without Mittens

Why would a child be without mittens during an early and cold winter?  Maybe they don’t own a pair. Or perhaps they lost their mittens just like the “Three Little Kittens” in a favorite old book of mine.

Remembering the fun times when I was young reading this book about how three little kittens lost their mittens made me think about the kindergarten students where I volunteer.  What would they do if they lost their mittens or didn’t have any? Telling kids to put their hands in their pockets seems like sentencing them to no fun at recess.

Sharing the story about the three little kittens brought a lot of smiles.  And the best part was when kindergarteners turned into kittens with their new mittens!

Moral of story:  Buy some mittens and take them to a local school to have on hand when days are cold and mittens are lost.…
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A Month Not A Day

What word comes to mind when you think of November?  Often it’s Thanksgiving. A day when we “gather together.”  And it’s when we hear about the narrow escapes, newfound friends and never-ending appreciation for families.

But why just a day?  Why not a month of giving thanks for all the good things in our life, whether it’s neighbors who offer to help, our favorite tv show, or that special someone.  Maybe if we start practicing early in the month, we will be wondering why all the fuss about a turkey when we’ve been cherishing special moments for weeks.

Just give a little thanks today!

 

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A Rainy Day In Kindergarten

This rainy day in Kindergarten may have been the best day of the year. Who wants to go outside for recess when you have a cuddly someone to share your chair, and they give unlimited hugs!

Then when it’s time for you to go to lunch, they will stay seated and eagerly await your return.

May every child have a stuffed animal to love!

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Happy Birthday To My Son

Thirty-five years ago today, a child was born in South Korea. Three months later, I had the immense joy of watching him being carried off of an airplane and placed into my arms. The social worker said “I’ve never seen a happier Mother.”

I give thanks every day to his birthmother who had to make a heart-wrenching decision to give him what she hoped would be the best life possible. It’s hard to imagine how that must have felt. I hope she has always believed she made the best decision. I can’t imagine my life without that happening.

Today I get to celebrate with my son as I think about the past, the present, and the future with him.

Happy Birthday Ryan!

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