Thursday, July 22, 2010One Giant Leap Past Shyland
When she first fell in love with the experience, she would ask to go to, "Betchtubles."
Last year she squealed, "Vegetables!" when we pulled into the parking lot.
This year, it's the "Farmers Market" that is her idea of a fun night out.
As much as Alexis has grown up, some things have stayed the same. She has always loved going to the Farmers Market. We walk up and down and back and forth, peering at vegetables and fruit and pastries and various other foodstuffs. She tells me how much she loves green beans and salad. We score some great deals on fruit that will vanish before I can even get it in the fruit bowl. We pull together a healthy dinner or two.
Before we leave, we always, always, always walk down to the man who makes and sells fresh kettle corn. The moment plays like a scene out of a movie, rewound and replayed over and over and over. There is never any variation.
It starts with the high-pitched request, "Can I buy some popcorn, please?"
I hand Alexis $5, grab her hand, and together we walk over to the familiar man in the corner. As we move closer, I gently urge Alexis to ask the man for a medium and to hand him her money.
Each time she agrees.
Each time she chickens out.
Just as the moment comes to make her request, she shoves the money back into my hand and buries her face in my legs. I reassure her that it's OK as I make the purchase on her behalf. I remind her that she needs to tell the man "Thank you." She whispers the words to him as we walk away, just before breaking out a huge grin as she clutches her kettle corn tightly.
Always the same. Always.
Until tonight.
Tonight the Big Girl took that $5, cautiously walked up to the man, and whispered, "I would like a medium, please," as she thrust her money towards him. Tonight the Big Girl bought her beloved kettle corn All. By. Herself.
As we slowly walked away, I struggled to pick my jaw up off the floor as the magnitude of what she had just done sunk into Alexis' consciousness.
"Momma!" she suddenly declared. "I did it all by myself!" Her words gushed with pride.
I might have been a little bit proud of her as well.
Tying Up a Loose End
When I asked for ideas for committing random acts of kindness, I had a couple of almost "rules" in mind. I wanted to do something that would help a lot of people. I wanted it to somehow benefit kids. Most importantly, it needed to be something with the potential for giving forward over and over and over. Thanks to all of the input y'all provided (HUGE props to @woycheck), I think we came up with something pretty much perfect.
I found some $1 backpacks on Oriental Trading's website and then sought and destroyed a decent pile of school supplies. We tossed it all together and then tossed it the Very-Important-Not-So-Secret Ingredient--the Mini Missions.
The premise was simple, if a kid was fortunate enough to benefit from the free backpack filled with school supplies, it seemed only fair to provide them with a means to continue the pay-it-forward mentality. There were four different missions.
Mission One--Silly Bandz: I don't pretend to understand the fascination with the things, but kids flock to Silly Bandz as if they are made of magical unicorn poop filled with glitter, diamonds, and Taylor Lautner's sweat. I've personally witnessed Alexis making tons of new friends just because of the prospect of swapping a few of the crazy little things, so what better way to spread a little joy than by giving a bunch of kids 50 Silly Bandz with instructions to give them away to some new friends?
Mission Two--Thank a Veteran: The Thank a Veteran mission came complete with some extra notebook paper, pencils, and a pre-addressed envelope. The instructions asked the backpack recipient to write a letter to a veteran and then send it on its happy way.
Mission Three--Thank a Soldier: Just like the Thank a Veteran mission, this one came with some extra paper, pencils, and a pre-addressed envelope. Another simple task to complete, all the recipient was asked to do was to write a letter and drop it in the mail.
Mission Four--Brighten a Day: This mission required a little extra behind-the-scenes shenanigans with a local personal care home. Once that end was set up, all that was needed was to place some crayons and/or markers, heavy weight paper, and a preaddressed envelope in the backpack. Recipients of the Brighten a Day mission were asked to create some art for some strangers. Draw a picture, color a scene, whatever, and then send it to the personal care home where a staffer will distribute all of the art they receive to residents who could use a little extra sunshine in their day.
And now I challenge y'all to join in on the Do Goodery. Really. Go buy some Silly Bandz and hand out their magic to some kids. Write a letter to a Veteran. Write a letter to a Soldier. Create some art for a personal care home resident. Do all of the above. I'll make it easy and give you some addresses where you can send those letters.
Letters for Veterans can be sent to:
Thank a Veteran
c/o Penny Alfonso
1970 Rangeview Drive
Glendale, CA 91201
Letters to Soldiers can be sent to:
Operation Gratitude
17330 Victory Blvd
Van Nuys, CA 91406
If you want to complete the personal care home mission, leave me a comment with your email address in the appropriate field. I'll reply back with the address where those beaut-i-mous things can be sent.
Do Goodery is fun.
