Bella

LJ loves animals. I do, too. We have met a lot of dogs during our neighborhood walks. LJ has to stop and pet each one. Out of all of the dogs in our neighborhood, her favorite is an American Bulldog named Bella. Sometimes we spot Bella passing by through the window, and LJ wants to run outside to say hello. Since Bella is such a superstar at our house, we decided to leave her a little surprise on the sidewalk this afternoon. I hope it made her owner smile.

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Raking Flowers

Hi, Neighbors. After a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with food, family and fun, I am feeling a little more like myself. Hopefully my "tomorrow" has finally come, and I am back in the kindness business.

Our neighbors have a gorgeous Floss Silk tree in their front yard. It blooms every October/November, and the huge pink flowers that cover it and then fall to the ground are the closest thing that we get to Fall leaves.

On one of our walks, I noticed that the flowers that were covering the sidewalk were really slippery. Since our neighbors were out of town for the weekend, I decided to rake some flowers for them. I swept the sidewalk, too. When the job was finished, I had filled 2 huge bags with flowers. If they hadn't attracted so many bees, I would have let LJ jump into my pile.

The Driveway Before:

The Driveway After:

One more shot of the pink Floss Silk flower:


Sending happy Fall thoughts to our neighbors near and far!

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Support

I had a check-up with my dermatologist. Before the exam, he was asking me about LJ and if I planned to have any more children. I told him about my divorce and how I didn't think there would be any more children in my future (something I am kind of devastated about because I absolutely love being a mom). Anyway, I was really surprised by my doctor's reaction. He seemed to be genuinely outraged by my news. He told me that I was a really wonderful, kind, positive person and my husband must be an idiot for not wanting to stay in our marriage. Dr. D is usually all business and kind of on the dry side, but he really came alive when he was giving me his little pep talk. It really meant a lot to me. I expect to hear encouraging words from my friends and family members; they love me and support me unconditionally. I don't expect to hear those things from someone on the periphery. Dr. D's words really touched me. I have been overwhelmed and humbled by the support of so many people.

Today, I started saying "thank you" for that support. It might take me a while, but I want to thank everyone who has made this ordeal a little bit easier. I have a lot of emails to write.

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Kindness by Proxy

I received this message from my sweet cousin today.

"I was in line at McD's to get my giant sweet tea, a necessity for making it through the day. It was super crowded. I was one car away from the pay window when I heard and felt a thud. The guy behind me had rear ended my car. He jumped out to apologize and check for damage. Of course nothing had happened. It was just a bump. I assured him it was fine and no big deal. He kept saying he was sorry and that he was so embarrassed. I knew he was upset and it might have started his day off wrong. So when I pulled to the window to pay I picked up the tab for his as well. I hope that put a smile on his face. I think you can totally claim this as your act of kindness for today."

I'll take it. That's much better than anything I had planned for the day. And, I can only hope that my reaction would have been as kind. Thanks, Kitty.

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Directions

I met LJ's dad at a shopping center today. He was going to take her to the park. I was moving her car seat from one car to the other when a man pulled up in a minivan and asked for directions. He was looking for Broward Health Clinic. I didn't know where it was, but I asked him if he had an address. Fort Lauderdale is such an easy city to navigate. It is based on grid system-- all streets & boulevards run east/west and all avenues run north/south. There are two main axis roads that meet downtown, and all of the street numbers begin at that point. So, 200 NW 7th Avenue would be around 2nd Street & NW 7th Ave. I told the man in the minivan how to get there... three times. I should have drawn a map. Of course, I think of that now. Next time, I'll be prepared. I hope he made it to his appointment on time.


Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Bird's Nest

Every six weeks, I volunteer for the children's program at our church. I have been working in the Pre-K 3 room. Even though I have 13 years of teaching experience, that means almost nothing when it comes to capturing the attention of nine rowdy 3-year olds and maintaining it long enough to actually get through a story and a craft. I try, and sometimes I succeed. I just have to be really flexible when it comes to defining success. ;-)

Today's craft was to make a bird's nest, complete with a little pom-pom bird with googly eyes and paper wings and beak. It was labor-intensive, and all nine of them decided to melt down at the same time. I'm really glad I'm doing this blog because I was able to pull out some patience that I had hidden in storage. Somehow we made nine nests with pom-poms that kind of resemble birds or maybe aliens. I'm counting it as a success. I told you I have to be flexible when it comes to defining that in the Pre-K 3 room. The kids were proud of them, and that's what counts... right?

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Bank Account

I opened a new bank account yesterday. A lovely woman named Carol assisted me. While we were completing the paperwork, another person came in and said, "Hey, Carole. You're with someone? We're waiting for YOU." Then, another person came in and caught her attention just so she could wave. I commented to Carol about her popularity, and then she smiled and told me about her work there. She drives 45 minutes to work every day, and she passes a lot of other branches on the way. She loves her customers, she has worked there for six years, and she doesn't see herself leaving anytime soon. By the time we were finished, I knew why her customers love her so much. Carol had managed to do everything quickly and efficiently while still throwing in some encouraging advice about my divorce and compliments for LJ. And then there's the smile. Kind of makes me wish I didn't use the ATM so much.

On my way out, the security guard asked if I had any canned items for their food drive. He was another happy, shiny person. His enthusiasm made me wish I had a few cans of tuna in my purse so I could drop something in the box immediately. Instead, I had to drive home and clean out the pantry... an act of kindness for the food drive and myself.

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

6:00 a.m.

Yesterday I gave my brother and sister-in-law a ride to the airport. Under normal circumstances, this would be no big deal. But, this ride was at 6:00 in the morning! It was still dark out... moon and stars kind of dark. The early wake-up made it an official act of kindness. I haven't seen 6:00 a.m. in a long time. Thankfully, LJ enjoys sleeping in as much as I do. :-)

We went to the beach today, and we participated in our most frequent act of kindness: picking up trash! I don't really enjoy picking up trash. It's just an easy thing to do, and there always seems to be an abundance of it at the beach and at local parks.

I'm glad to be focused on this project again. I'm feeling better.

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Self-control

Yesterday my husband and I filed for divorce. This was the reason that I have been missing for most of the month of October. I don't really feel like it's appropriate for me to share the details here, but I would like to express how difficult this experience has been. I was completely blindsided by his decision to leave and devastated by his refusal to try and work things out through counseling. I never saw this coming. It's like he just woke up one day and decided that it was over. Of course, there is a lot more to the story, but you get the picture. I am angry, disappointed, and confused.

My act of kindness for the day was for my soon-to-be-ex-husband. We spent almost two hours alone in a room together while the attorney completed our paperwork. As much as I wanted to scream, curse, throw things, leap across the table and choke him, I kept all of those negative emotions in check, and I tried not to say anything hurtful. We need to have a cooperative relationship for LJ's sake. If he is not going to be a good husband for me, he can still be a good father for her.

Life is full of surprises, isn't it?

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

First Day of School

I worked as a substitute teacher yesterday. The assignment was for a preschool class-- adorable 3 and 4 year old children with speech and language delays. I have subbed in that class before, and I really enjoyed it.

While I was waiting for the children to arrive, I learned that we would have a new student. It was Jonathan's first day of school. I had originally planned to find something positive to say about each student as my act of kindness for the day. When I saw 3-year old Jonathan with his Thomas the Tank Engine backpack and brand new shoes and tear-filled eyes, I had a new mission: make Jonathan's day.

It was an easy assignment, and I was happy that I could tell his mom that he had a wonderful day when she picked him up. I managed to squeeze in those compliments with the other children in the class, too.... plenty of good artwork, nice manners, smiles, sharing and singing!

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor

Trick-or-Treat

I love Halloween. I got to stay home last night and hand out candy while LJ's dad took her trick-or-treating. It was rainy here so we had less children than usual, but it was still fun to see all of the costumes and offer up the big basket of candy.

Before LJ went out, we did a little reverse trick-or-treating at 3 of our neighbor's houses. When they opened the door, LJ a.k.a. Butterfly Princess gave them a small bouquet of flowers. It seemed like a nice surprise. I had big plans to reverse trick-or-treat through the entire neighborhood. Maybe next year. Or-- who says we have to wait that long? Maybe next week!

Kind Regards,

Your Neighbor