A Year of Random Acts of Kindness: Week 1

For my birthday, I wanted do something special.

Instead, I ended up drinking too much Busch Light and gourmet jello shots.

Let's recap my day...

Bandit giving goodluck kisses during beer pong.
We won 8 games in a row.
And I never want to drink Busch Light again.

Thankfully, The Husband was in a good mood because the Cowboys WON!

Celebration cigar.

I ate buffalo chicken dip, despite my lactose allergy. (And yes, I paid for it).

Team Cheese.

And most importantly, I had a blast with some of my close friends and family!

Loves.

BUT despite my fun-filled day, I did come up with an exciting idea for my 26th year of life!

I thought about riding my bike 26 miles, but my body quickly ruled that out. I will spare the details about why, but if you’re dying to know…just message me. Instead, I opted for a short run with Bandit...the day was simply too beautiful to pass up!

Fall is perfect.

I wanted to decorate for Christmas, but knew I’d have some push back from Justin. So instead, I just went to CVS (yes, the drug store) and picked up some adorable (and affordable) Christmas decorations for our mantel. We will finish the house next weekend!

The most wonderful time of the year!
PS I am obesssseedddd with our new fireplace!

Then, I thought about doing 26 random acts of kindness on my birthday.

I came up with this list:
1.    Donate clothes to Goodwill
2.    Mail letters to friends just to say how much they mean to me / I love them
3.    Buy someone’s Starbucks
4.    Leave a gift card in a book at Barnes & Noble
5.    Bake cookies for the neighbors
6.    Write an appreciation letter to an old teacher
7.    Drop off food and treats for animals at a shelter
8.    Drop off tennis balls at the bark park
9.    Give strangers a compliment
10.    Hold a door open for people and wait for them
11.    Let people merge in front of me and smile
12.    Take water to runners on the Monon Trail
13.    Leave a gas card at the pump station
14.    Leave a GREAT tip for a birthday lunch or breakfast
15.    Tape popcorn to a redbox machine
16.    Leave money in a vending machine
17.    Buy craft beer to support our local brewers
18.    Sign up for a 5K that benefits a charity I am passionate about
19.    Make my husband breakfast in bed
20.    Call my grandma just to chat
21.    Drop off coloring box and crayons to a hospital
22.    Plant a tree
23.    Bake a treat for local policemen
24.    Bake a treat for local firefighters
25.    Donate $26 dollars to a charity that means a lot to me
26.    Donate to a local food pantry

I did a lot of research and read many blog posts about random acts of kindness. I loved all of the ideas, but I was struggling with how to balance all of these acts in one single day.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if I could do something like this every single week?

A whole YEAR of being kind and compassionate, often to complete strangers…it seemed much more powerful and inspirational to make this journey last longer than a single day.

I’ll use my list above as a starting point…and will also donate $26 each month to a different charity. My first donation went to Indy Fire & Rescue to help the victims from the explosion in Greenwood, Indiana. My heart hurt after hearing such tragic news…

My first random act of kindness this week involved me raiding my closet and giving away some nice clothes.

Okay, if you have only worn something once or twice this year…it’s GONE!

I gave up some really nice pieces of clothing, but I simply wasn’t wearing them enough! And it seemed foolish to let the clothes keep collecting dust when someone out there could really use new shirts, dresses, and pants.

Each week, I’ll blog about my random act of kindness. And I would absolutely LOVE it if you guys submitted ideas, charities, and events for me to consider this year.

“I hope you will have a wonderful year, that you'll dream dangerously and outrageously, that you'll make something that didn't exist before you made it, that you will be loved and that you will be liked, and that you will have people to love and to like in return. And, most importantly (because I think there should be more kindness and more wisdom in the world right now), that you will, when you need to be, be wise, and that you will always be kind.”
― Neil Gaiman

Always be kind.

Much love,
Ashley