Today we gave back to the homeless in our community.  Abbs was my ringleader on this one.  He did the shopping with me and picked out all the treats and even insisted on full size candy bars…..the only hard part for him was giving them away.  Something about a full size candy bar that makes a kid weak in the knees, am I right?  Well, maybe even me too.

We made salami sandwiches and loaded the bags with pretzels, applesauce, crackers, juice boxes, candy bars, animal crackers, string cheese and a pack of tissues along with a note of encouragement.  We took them to our park bench by the train station where we frequently see homeless people huddling in the bus shelter to keep warm.  My pals and I had a long talk about how lucky they were to have food in the fridge and a place to sleep at night.  This one really hit home with all of us.

It has been gray and dreary and downright depressing here the past weeks, not to mention bitter cold.  Not today!  Today the sun was shining, the birds were chirping and the parks were hopping after school!

Today we went and got bubbles and passed them out to kids playing at the park.  This was awesome!  The air was littered with bubbles and kids with red cheeks and tons of smiles.  I mean, it was 48 but that felt like 88 to us….the sun makes all the difference in the world.

This is one of my favorites that we do…..today we went to the dollar tree and went to the toy section and taped dollars to toys with a little note.  I can just imagine how excited a child would be to find this!  This one was a little hard for Abbs who desperately wanted something but not today bud!  Today we give back to an unexpected child!

What is better than getting real mail?!?!  Nothing really.  Those email birthday cards that people send don’t come close to opening the mail and getting a real card or letter.

Today we each picked 5 people to surprise and tell them they are thankful to them and lucky to have them in their lives.  Each kid took time electing their 5 and wrote a little note.  Mom did this too.  I really enjoy opening up my rusty mailbox and seeing more than a pile of damn bills or solicitations.  Real snail mail is the best – especially when you are not expecting it.

There really is nothing better than having amazing neighbors.  We LOVE where we will and it is not because of the physical house, it is because of the people that live around us.  Our neighbors are amazing – the ones behind us, next to us, across the street, around the corner.  We are so blessed to have blindly chosen this home not knowing a soul and lucked out with the people that surround us.  We found our tribe and we are so thankful.  We decided to surprise some neighbors with a homemade treat and thank them for being amazing neighbors…..and who doesn’t love brownies?!?!

So day 3 was one of my favorites.  We drew some pictures and wrote letters with encouraging words, thanking the Marines for keeping us safe.  One of my sweet friends from High School has a son in the active Marines so this one hit closer to home.  I got his current address and we found out he is shipping out in 2 weeks so the timing was perfect!

We all worked together and were able to send out about 20 letters to Corporal James and his fellow marines.  As a mother, I cannot imagine how hard it would be to let my son or daughter go and follow their dreams but that’s what you do when your a mom. You let your kid follow their dreams.  The least we can do is let them know how much we appreciate everything they have done and will continue to do to keep us safe.

I have taught my kids how important the armed services truly are, along with police and fireman.  When we are ever out to dinner or lunch and run into an officer, my kids proudly walk over and say, “Thanks for keeping us safe.”  My 4 year old did it by himself at Jimmy Johns the other day, all on his own.  As we were packing up, the officer walked up to me and with almost a tear in his eye said, Thanks Mom and shook my hand.  These people do not get  enough respect for everything they do for us to keep us safe so we can live our daily lives without a worry.

Thank you Corporal James for keeping us safe.

Day 2 was a great one and we opened up with a super one right out of the gates, so it will be repeated, mostly because the bags were gone within in hour which meant there was a real need and a real need for more, which we will do next time.

We made “blessing bags”.  We used the all telling GOOGLE and figured out what homeless people need the most.  We decided to put that stuff into bags.  The list surprised us a bit but we fulfilled it, absolutely.  It was: New socks, deodorant, bandaids, cough drops, tissues, toothbrush/paste, razors, tissue (Paw Patrol naturally….and the Band-Aids were minions), a pack of cookies, one dollar for a cup of hot coffee…I am missing something but the sentiment was amazing and my pals were so excited.

We wrote a nice note and hung it by the train stop where we know homeless people hang out.  The bags were gone in a few hours.  I love this. This made us cry happy tears and excite my gang to do more……Here’s to day 3.  XO

So ,we did it today, after a crazy hectic day of school, CCD, then Ash wed mass and so our treat to pick off “Operation Awesome” was Happy Meals.  This has been our first “good deed” every year since we started.  We kick the 40 days off with a treat – a Happy Meal and pay for the people behind us.  We always write a note to let them know WHY we are paying for them versus just….”hey, that car in front of you paid for you.”

This all started with a conversation with my mom, who is my best friend by the way….even though I drive her nuts, like cashew, praline nuts city.  We are best pals. Years ago, when my kids were tiny tots (they are coming up on 7) I told her I was giving up pizza and real casually she mentioned that maybe we should, as a whole, do something instead of giving something up.  A total lightbulb went off.  YES! YES! Who benefits when we give up chocolate or pizza or wine or cheese?!?  Only you. Your diet gets better, maybe your willpower, but giving “out” instead of giving “up” benefits yourself and so many more.  This is where “Operation Awesome” started.  Follow along and see what we do for the next 40 days.  I will post every night what we did and how it went over.  This is one of my favorite parts of my year as a mom.  I can teach them so much without them even realizing that kindness is again being ingrained in their spongy minds. They are sweet and kind to start but helping with these projects really helps.

I think it is important for people to know that we do this for 40 days.  Not that I would ever expect anyone to do the same, ever…but the amazing and awesome thing, is that I know it has stretched beyond River Forest and I have friends who are now seeing the impact we have made over the past years and doing the same.  They are doing the same in DePere and Green Bay WI, going all the way to California, Texas and Ohio and right here in the suburbs of the Chi.  It grows and that is what kindness does and this is a huge reason I teach my kids to do this.  Kindness is contagious. It is. It is so contagious. So get ready for it to catch on to you.  40 days is a huge commitment so if you want to play along, do something fun once that someone wouldn’t expect.  We have a whole list that we are doing but a few easy ones if you want to pitch in….and you will LOVE it!

-Tape a $5 Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts gift card to your mailbox with a note telling your mailman you want to buy him a cup of coffee and a donut to say, “thank you” for doing a great job.

-Make brownies or cookies for a  lonely neighbor.

-Pick up garbage around your neighborhood – not everything has to cost money.

-Go around with sidewalk chalk writing affirmative messages that people can see when they walk – “you are awesome!”, “SMILE! It is your day!” “You simply ROCK!”

It all starts with the little guys and I do my best to teach my gang of misfits by example.

Day 1 is down and 39 to go.  Stay tuned.