Act 8

I baked some cranberry bread for the ladies at Chloe’s childcare. When I was a teaching young children, I always appreciated the moms and dads who remembered me over the holidays. I think it’s important to remember those who help care for our children. We only use childcare a few hours a week, but they make my life much easier and Chloe enjoys socializing with the other babies.

Act 7

Today I went to the JC Penney’s at the Tacoma Mall to pick up our holiday photos. If you’ve ever ordered photos from JC Penney, you know that they give you your photos, and then they try to sell you three sheets of additional photos. I had a question about one of the sheets, and the girl who was helping me was both confused and overwhelmed. There were only two ladies working. One was taking photos, and the other was trying to manage three phones that were all ringing off the hook. I told her I could just take my photos since she was busy, but she asked that I please wait. Once the phones stopped ringing, she apologized and told me I could have all of the extras free of charge for my patience. I almost cried. I have been having a really hard time the last few days, and this small act made my day. I wanted to return their kindness so I called the portrait studio tonight. I left a message for the manager stating what time of day I was in their studio picking up my photos, and I told her about what an awesome job her employees were doing. I think we often forget to commend those who are doing great work.

Act 6

The Mary Bridge Children's Hospital is having a book drive today. Mary Bridge Children's Hospital is the only pediatric hospital in southwest Washington dedicated to caring for the special needs of children, from open-heart surgery to asthma treatment, cancer care to diabetes. Hopefully, the Berenstain Bears' Bedtime Battle will bring a smile to someone's face.

I didn't take this picture. I like to include my own pictures with my posts, but the weather outside is nasty today.

Act 5

I bought some nail polish and pedicure items and donated them to the YWCA Women’s Shelter in Tacoma earlier today. I have wanted to bring something to them, but I wasn’t sure what would be the most appreciated. I started thinking about myself, and I know my favorite thing to do when I’m feeling rough is to have a pedicure. A couple days before my emergency c-section with Chloe, I had my toe nails painted bright pink. We ended up spending nearly a week in the hospital, and I felt quite awful and grungy. It was so nice to feel like one part of my body looked nice and was under control. That probably sounds silly, but maybe a few pedicures will bring a smile to a couple of those ladies.

Act 4

For Act 4, I made and sent out another dozen cards. However, this time I went through Cards for Soldiers (http://cardsforsoldiers.blogspot.com/). This organization accepts blank homemade cards, and they send them to service members so they can have cards to send to their friends and loved ones.

Act 3

Chloe and I bought a dozen yellow roses to place at a dozen graves at the Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery in Orting this afternoon. That is the closest military cemetery to our home. It was a bit of a drive, but I knew we needed to do something for our fallen veterans. The cemetery is in a beautiful spot, and it is quite old. Many of the soldiers buried in this cemetery fought in the Spanish-American War and World War I. I can’t even imagine what those families had to go through. No emails. No phone calls. Maybe a letter every few months. I hate having my husband gone for 12-15 months at a time, but at least we have phone calls and emails. I can’t imagine the pain and heartache they must have endured over their time apart.

Act 2

A Million Thanks (http://www.amillionthanks.org) is a year-round campaign to show appreciation to the U.S. military, both past and present. They express gratitude for the sacrifices, dedication, and service by sending out homemade cards. When Reuben was in Iraq in 2006/07 for fifteen months, I spent hours making and sending them cards.

I admire that they don’t show preferential treatment to a particular branch, sex, warzone, or age group. They just want to send a little love and joy to the troops. For Act 2, I made a dozen holiday cards for A Million Thanks.

A human being is a part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feeling as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

-Albert Einstein

Act 1

Freedom Bridge is an overpass in-between the gates of Camp Murray and Madigan Army Medical Center/Fort Lewis in Washington. It has been adorned with ribbons, flags, stickers, and flowers for several years by a group of regulars who are come out to wave flags and express their gratitude to the service members coming and going every Saturday.

Today was a typical fall day in the Northwest. It was incredibly cold, rainy, and windy outside. I hate taking my daughter out in this weather. We not only needed to go on post this morning, but we needed to be on post and dressed up. When we were back in the car and exiting Madigan gate, I spotted two of the Saturday regulars out waving their flags. They both looked about 60+ years old. Although they were soaked, they both were wearing enormous grins and waving their flags. Here was Act 1 right in front of me. Chloe and I headed the McDonalds, bought two hot coffees, and we delivered them to the two kind souls spreading joy on an otherwise nasty day. As I rolled down the window, with the rain and wind blowing inside, it warmed my heart to see the huge smile on this nice man’s face.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of this blog?
The purpose of this blog is to track my journey of becoming a more compassionate person. I want to set a good example for my daughter by showing her how easy it can be to spread kindness to those we know and have never met. In addition to showing compassion, I believe it’s also important to show kindness to those who provide compassion, security, and goodness to those in their communities. I hope to attract followers who can share their stories of spreading compassion. Feel free to leave comments of encouragement and stories of compassion you’ve shown or been shown in your life.

Why 222 acts of compassion?
My daughter was born on 02/22.

What can one person do?
I believe one person can do a great deal. Many of my acts involve crafts and baking, because those are two things I’m good at. However, maybe by providing one with compassion, I could inspire that person to pay it forward and help someone else with one of his or her gifts.

I wish I could do something like this, but...
Give the gift of your time and skills.
It only takes a moment of your time and a buck to buy a cup of coffee.