Lucky

I am very lucky – I have an incredible mom.  I am not just saying that because we have lots of fun together and she is my best friend.  Although that alone does make me pretty lucky.  I am lucky because she is a wonderful person and has set a wonderful example for me and for my kids.

She always made school a priority when I was growing up.  She taught me that what is inside matters most.  She taught me that judging someone based on their skin color is just as ridiculous as judging someone for having green eyes.  She taught me forgiveness, but she also taught me to be strong and not take crap from anyone.  She made me strong.  And strong-willed.   (Although that one came back to bite her in the rear when I was a teenager.)  From her, I learned that being happy wins over being wealthy any day.

I could go on and on about all the wonderful things I learned from my mom.  But at some point my fingers would get tired of typing and your eyes would get blurry from reading.  Plus I don’t want anyone to feel jealous of me for having such a great mom.  It would be rude for me to rub it in and make someone feel bad.  That’s pretty nice of me, isn’t it?  Yeah, I got that from my mom too.

I will tell you one of the most special things about my mom: her kindness and generosity.  My mom did an act of kindness the other day that touched my heart and reminded me of why she is so special.  She got very lucky and won a $100 gift card from the grocery store.  (Side note: completing those surveys on your receipts really can pay off!  Who knew?)  I’m sure any one of us would love to get an extra $100 to buy groceries.  I would be thrilled.  Josh could probably eat that gift card in a day.  Well, she was pretty excited too.  But instead of using it for herself, she turned around and mailed it to someone special in her life who has been struggling financially.  It’s a wonderful example of generosity and I’m so happy that she decided to share her story.  You can read it here at bythebayblog.com.

As you may know, Random Acts of Kindness has been a recurring theme with me lately.  It is something that I want to integrate into my life on a regular basis.  I want my kids to learn to be kind and help others without expecting anything in return.  I also want others to be inspired to do the same.  How amazing would it be if everyone strives to do this?  What kind of impact could we have if everyone we knew did one kind thing tomorrow?  And what if every recipient of those kind things turned around and did one random act of kindness the next day?  It’s amazing to imagine…

Along with my mom’s special person, I know of someone else who could also use a little extra help these days.  And I know they aren’t the only ones.  Right now I’m praying for a way to be bold and do something to help out.  I’m not sure what I can do, but I do know this: I will never look at a “freebie” the same way again.

Summer Vacation

It has been such a busy summer for us here in New Hampshire.  So busy that I haven’t had time to sit down at my computer and write.  When the kids go back to school in a few weeks, they are not allowed to answer “nothing” when asked what fun things they did this summer.  We managed to log another 2,000+ miles when we took a three week trip to visit family in Virginia and Tennessee.  Since coming home, we have spent almost every day at either the pool, the beach or the lake.  We have visited playgrounds, watched movies at the drive-in theater, picked fresh fruit, and eaten a dairy farm’s worth of ice cream. We have been especially devoted to that ice cream eating mission.  (I am steadfast in my belief that peanut butter cup ice cream qualifies as a meal since peanut butter has protein.)  We even had one of Megan’s BFFs fly up from Maryland for a week to join us on our adventures.  I would tell you that New Hampshire is one of the most amazing places to spend the summer, but then people might be inclined to come here and well, I like the fact that the traffic isn’t so bad.

We only have a few precious weeks left of summer here in New Hampshire.  I plan to enjoy every beautiful day to the fullest.  Soon the kids will be back in school and the leaves will start to change color.  At that point I should be able to clean up the summer mess in my house and finally get back to my computer.  I have wanted to share every wonderful (and not so wonderful) story, but have instead opted to “live in the moment”.  My absence from the internet may appear to be me slacking off, but I’m choosing to call it “research” for upcoming posts instead.  Ah, the joys of creative wording…