Snowmen

I have been doing quite a bit of crafting lately and find myself looking forward to visits to arts and crafts stores.  Something about this time of year when the holidays are here and the cold weather blows in that makes me want to sit inside and accomplish small projects.

Recently I picked up a kit filled with all the supplies to make snowmen ornaments and could not resist buying the kit and dumping out all the pieces on my table at home.

I started by simply by putting together all the pieces to make one ornament.

By the time I was finished I had a pile of snowmen that I am ready to give away.  Hopefully, they will bring a smile to the faces of their finders this holiday season.

The 13th Gift

I just finished reading a heart warming book entitled The 13th Gift.  It is a true story about a woman and three children going through their first holiday season after the sudden loss of their husband and father. 

Twelve days before Christmas during the first holiday season after their loss, they unexpectedly receive a poinsettia on their front steps with a note that is it a gift on the "first day of Christmas" from their "true friends". While unwelcome at first, the gifts. which contine to appear with notes following the "Twelve Days of Christmas", eventually help pull the family back into the holiday spirit and help them realize they will survive beyond their loss.

The "true friends" were simply anonymous gift givers who remained anonymous for fifteen years until finally revealing themselves to the recipients.  When received by the right recipients an anonymous gift can be so meaningful.  I thank the author for the last two sentences of her acknowledgements at the end of the book which read, "I send out a prayer of hope and gratitude for gift givers everywhere.  Your generosity of spirit fuels us all forward."

I hope some of my gifts have impacted finders even a fraction of the amount the family written about in The 13th Gift were impacted by their gift givers.  I feel inspired to continue on this path to bring happiness to others.

Check Paying....Paying it Forward

This week I happened to be home in the afternoon one day as a result of when my flight got me back home from Kansas City.  As a result I was watching The Ellen Degeneres Show and saw a segment featuring a woman who moved to Vermont for a fresh start after being out of work as a nurse for a period of time.

Once settled in Vermont the woman found a diner that felt like home and made her feel like a welcome part of the community.  On a recent day she was eating at the diner and, since she had won $500 on a scratch ticket, decided to pay the check for a father and son.  She did so and left for the day feeling good about her act of kindness. 

After she left, that father and son payed the tab for someone else.  By the end of that one day at the diner, more than forty groups had paid it forward and more than 90 meals were paid for.

The power of kindness!

Kansas City

This is my second week of travel in a row and I am in the middle of a deep freeze in Missouri and Kansas.  Had a couple days worth of meetings to attend and some great people to spend the time with but the cold was hard to adjust too.  Just saw on the local news that snow is blowing in over the weekend.

Figured that while I was in town I should spread a little kindness.  Left a few gifts in various spots just waiting for their finders.  The gifts were....

An angel that can be hung in an office cube, at home or even given to a dear friend.

A pack of festive tissues...

A festive scented candle... 

and a cheery pack of post it notes 

Tampa

A week ago I was in Tampa teaching a course for a few days.  I frequently travel and teach, and last week I had an outstanding group of thirty-four that made my work easy!  The group had flown in from all over the country, and proving what a small world it is, one participant from Kansas grew up one town over from me in the northeast.  When it came up in conversation we could hardly believe it!

When the time came to leave one of my dearest friends who is also the friend I have had the longest in life picked me up at my hotel and drove me to the airport with her family.  We had dinner at the airport and she and her husband and two children waved goodbye to me until I was out of sight.  I felt so blessed to have such a friend!  Her kindness to battle through traffic to pick me up and keep her children up past their bedtime was so appreciated.

Before I left town I left a couple gifts.

Here is the dry erase post it left in the lobby at one hotel....

And a notebook left in the women's restroom at another.

Hope the finders enjoyed! 

Keeping Records

I consider myself to be very organized and sometimes keep track of more than I likely need to such as lists of gifts given and received for birthdays and holidays, lists of adult education classes taken, and lists of road races run.  I have friends that also keep track of things such as miles driven between gasoline fill ups, so I know this habit is one many people have.  The variable is what each person keeps track of.

It is so rare that I go back and look at all these records, but occasionally I do and am happy I have the notes.  As an example two weeks ago I started running 5k road races again after a 10 year absence.  I was glad I could refer back to my times and see the progress I made in the past that I hope to repeat in the future.

It is always helpful to have notebooks to write down the things you keep track of in or to doodle during the day. 

A Side Note

While I do think of myself as organized I don't always get to things as early as I would like to.  At any given time on the side of my desk I have a stack of papers and notes of things I keep meaning to get to.  This morning I sorted through the list and took care of a two memorial donations, two baby gifts and a going away present.

It is such a feeling of accomplishement to take those post-it reminders and be able to toss them in the bin.  While none of these items took too long sometimes it is just a matter of getting myself focused.  Fall and the back to school season always seems to jumpstart my organization.

Maybe someone else can use a reusable post-it to help with their list too.  It is perfect for the side of a desk or refrigerator.