Last night at the dinner table, the kids wondered what was on the agenda for Tuesday. "A factory tour," I told them. "It will be fun." They all laughed at the idea of visiting the Jiffy factory, and I could tell quickly that idea was going south. Having a 8 year gap between my oldest and youngest makes it hard to find something they'll all enjoy without breaking the bank!
So, I decided to go another route. A Random Act of Kindness day I saw on social media last week. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. When the kids woke up this morning, they were happy to hear Jiffy was out of the question, and I was excited to do something completely different and random.
Pinterest, the go-to for every creative project in my house, didn't let me down in finding the perfect printable to use today. Meanwhile, my youngest two each made a thank you card for our local heroes. Something about a homemade card in kid's writing complete with drawings that is so sentimental and thoughtful. So proud of my little Picassos!
Now to head out on our mission. Random Act of Kindness Day here we come!
First stop, our local supermarket picking up donuts, cookies and a bouquet of flowers. After paying at register, our first random act began taping a microwave popcorn bag to the Red box machine. Every movie needs popcorn! My kids were concerned that we might get in trouble. I reassured them no one would get mad we put a free microwave popcorn bag on there.
We headed to our next spot before leaving the store....the beloved candy machines. Isn't it every kid's dream to walk up to the candy and toy machines to see free money?!?! The slots were all adored with quarters and decorated signs. Sorry moms! Now it's going to be really hard to say no when someone else already paid for it.
Jumped in the card and onward to our local fire station right down the street. Tessa was hoping to get a picture with a fireman, and her wish was about to come true. We rang the doorbell and were greeted shortly by a local hero. He invited us in not quite sure why we were there. Tessa gave him the card and cookies she picked out. He thanked us and gave us a brief tour of the station. Told us about their chores of keeping their station clean and took us into the garage where the vehicles were stored. A mechanic was there working on the fire truck as we spoke. Did you know they have to do vehicles repairs in house? We thanked him again for serving our community, grabbed a few pictures and set back out for more stops.
Our township doesn't have a police station so we had to go find our local heroes and little further from home. At the municipal building, we got to call the dispatcher who would send over an county sheriff. What fun to have a special greeting from a sheriff who said he's used to only getting complaints. The officer's face lit up from our surprise! He read Jaden's thank you note out loud, thanked us for the treats and offered to pull his vehicle up for a picture. What a delight to see his joy and the joy it gave back to us! Winning!
Meanwhile, my oldest got in the spirit and decided to fill the meters up with quarters in the parking lot. My middle son joined in the fun. Love it! Now they're getting it.
We finished with flowers on random windshields hoping to bring some joy to people's hearts as they returned to their vehicle. Gavin wishing to see someone's face light up with his act of kindness. And with that we were almost done....
We saved one last flower for our favorite ice cream spot. A historical neighborhood creamery for decades. We drive by the place almost every day and have frequented their business often. Sometimes even without the kids. Lol! We know the owner's car and placed the final flower on that windshield. What a commitment they have made to that community for so long. We can't help but be grateful for the nostalgic feeling we get every time we grab a cone there. We didn't leave of course before heading in to buy ice cream, say hello to the ladies behind the counter, keeping our secret safe with us and a random beef jerky for my oldest who was boycotting sweets.
Our world needs more kindness, and it starts with each of us. Show the love today and make the world a better place. Now here's to surviving the rest of our staycation!
