Even though it seems like the last 3 months have been a bit on the difficult side for our family……
we’ve made the best of what we can and are grateful and thankful that we have a happy,
healthy and thriving family.
for that my heart is full.
Two years ago when we were living in Illinois….we bundled up the kids one day……hopped on the train and
headed into Chicago to spread some love.
You can read all about here {here}.
It’s been two years since we’ve done something like that and my heart was pulling at me to do something
this year with the kids here on Kauai. The homeless population is different here….no real downtown to do something
like what we had done but that didn’t stop me from trying to think outside the box.
plus we didn’t have one single extra dollar to spend
that is till last Tuesday when i got home from work and there was an envelope from my godfather.
I haven’t seen him or his wife since our wedding but every year we still send a Christmas card to them…
so i opened up the envelope and in it was a check for $150.
Then on Wednesday Mason was outside playing and our neighbor handed him $10 and wished
him a Merry Christmas as he was getting in his car to head to the airport and out of the country for a month.
Two different acts of kindness in two days.
How could we not think of something to do….and with what happened a week ago Friday….there was a whole lot
of random acts of kindness floating around lately….because so many of us were affected by that horrible shooting.
Later that afternoon i went into work to grab my paycheck and in it was almost like getting a bonus
because so far we had the kids Christmas gifts all paid for…..and sort of felt like we were right on track….
even though our parents and siblings didn’t get much more than some Kauai love for Christmas this year….
we knew that they would understand and know that what we were going to do with this extra money
would mean so much more to them then something wrapped up in paper.
This time of year it’s also hard to hear my kids talk about what they want…..
what they think they should be getting.
It’ certainly takes the joy out of Christmas and the meaning of giving is lost.
That is why i felt so compelled to go forth and bless others who really could use the help
much more than we need it.
So this last Thursday…..we got up in the morning….and piled in the mini {van not cooper}
and headed to town.
{we call going to town….going to the big city…which is Lihue and it’s not really a city…but you get the gist}
First stop was to Super-cuts.
Fin wanted a haircut and so when i walked in to inquire about the wait…..
i was told it was going to be about 30 minutes because there were 3 sisters getting their hair cut.
I saw the mom in the back standing next to the youngest girl who was probably around 5 years old
and i knew that this would be a family that would appreciate a blessing today.
I asked the cashier if maybe we could pay for the three girls haircuts….and her eyes got wide
and then she smiled really big.
We paid for the cuts and then we left a really nice tip for each of the stylists.
We also told the cashier that we wanted to do this anonymously ….
so when they checked out….the cashier told them that some elves had paid…and to have a Merry Christmas.
The mom smiled the biggest smile i’ve ever seen and my kids and i looked at each other with silent smiles
because it felt so good.
Once Fin had his haircut……we were starving and headed to our favorite Brick oven pizza place.
Our favorite server was working …….so once again….our minds started playing overtime.
At first we were thinking we would just pay for someone else’s bill that was also dining in the restaurant
but it was just us and another couple who looked like they were visiting.
Because we know how much servers rely on their tips
we knew our server would appreciate a little love today.
Plus i had a glass of wine with lunch so i was starting to feel real good.
oh….you might notice Fin’s new haircut in the photo below……
I’m still trying to figure out how the cut went from
asking for a trim to a full on cut that now has him looking like Jim Carey from the movie
Dumb and Dumber.
Anyhoo……
check check…..
after lunch we had one more stop.
This was to be our biggest stop yet…..
We headed into Kmart.
Kmart does Layaway…..and i’ve heard here and there that on occasion people will go in and help
to pay off people’s purchases and so i stored that into the back of my brain for a day like this.
The kids and i walked in to Kmart…..found out that the layaway was in the back of the store
then headed back and got into the line that was 30 minutes deep.
The kids were getting restless when we finally made our way to the front of the line and the cashier
asked us for our receipt and if we wanted to make a payment.
I casually mentioned that we were actually here to see if it would be possible to maybe
make some payments on some others lay-aways and if so….would she be able to help us out with it.
She immediately got on the phone and called the manager back.
I kept thinking sheet…….uh oh.
The last thing i wanted was for someone to get on the overhead speaker system and say aloud
“attention Kmart shoppers…..”
but she didn’t..……
what she did do was get the manager to come back to help her because no one had ever done this before
at their Kmart. I asked the manager if it was possible that we help pay for families that only have toys
left or on hold for their layaway.
She pulled up 5 families for us….and then told us she would call each of these 5 families and let them know
some elves came in and helped pay off their balances.
The first family only had a balance of around $8.
$8!!
I think this is what made me feel all warm and fuzzy all day…..
because if someone is having a hard time just paying off $8
then this is someone who needed it the most.
We paid it off.
The second family had a balance of around $60.
We paid it off.
For the third, fourth and fifth families…..they had a lot higher balances…so we decided to pay $25 each
towards their balance.
5 families that were blessed because we decided to pay it forward with the generosity of a few people
that didn’t even know what their money was going to do.
3 kids that had a wonderful day blessing others….
{well…the youngest wasn’t too sure about it….but i blame it on the haircut}
and one momma who wanted to show her kids that by doing selfless acts of kindness will take you further
in life than anything else ever will.
