48 Random Acts of Kindness

So for the past six years, I've decided to do random acts of kindness as my birthday rolls around. The number of kind acts correspond to my age, so I guess that gives it away. Today I turn 48. Because the number keeps growing each year, I seem to start earlier and earlier each year. This year I started during the pandemic and it's been harder to do things I'd normally do since I'm not out and about as much. I posted on Facebook that I was doing this again and thank those who also did a kind act as well (especially those who sent my mom a birthday card). I tried to track things as I went along to be sure I got to the 48.

1) Made homemade soup on several occasions and shared with senior friend

2) Donated to GoFundMe for a friend’s child

3) Shipped candy to niece for birthday

4) Brought food to a neighbor after 4th of July BBQ

5) Sent some headbands to a great niece

6) Passed on bags of gently used clothes to friend

7) Gave nephew some books

8) Ordered new dress for a niece

9) Went to visit Dad and brought him a couple plants

10) Brought homemade food to Dad on visit

11) Sent Mom some books

12) Sent niece candy when she wasn’t feeling good

13) Sent some candy to sister

14) Cleaned out kids closets and gave several bags of clothes to friend with young kids

15) Sent mom flowers

16) Sent flowers to an aunt

17) Gave extra garden plants to my sister

18) Brought meals to an elderly friend

19) Purchased ducks for the annual Illinois Special Olympics Duck Race fundraiser

20) Dropped off wine to a friend

21) Shared my micro green crop with a friend

22) Dropped off bottle of wine for another friend

23) Dropped off chocolate for a friend

24) Dropped off cake and cookies to sister-in-law

25) Sent free books to five kids 

26) Had pizza sent to brother and family

27) Sent treats to brother and sister-in-law

28) Packed up snacks for my brother when leaving for a road trip

29) Watched my brother’s dog while out of town

30) Sent matching outfits for a couple great nieces

31) Brought home ice cream for my kids

32) Had my son’s friends over for dinner

33) Sent signed book to a friend for their child

34) Adopted a graduating 8th grader and gave them gifts

35) Adopted a graduating high schooler

36) Adopted a college graduate

37) Saved egg cartons for food pantry

38) Sent mom gatorade and snacks

39) Brought Dad a radio so he could listen to Cubs games

40) Dropped off dinner for a friend

41) Bought some small toys and treats for niece and nephew

42) Passed on some bags of boys’ clothes to friend with sons

43) Made my son his favorite meal

44) Made donation to fund for friend with cancer

45) Dropped off food tray to a friend

46) Bought lunch for a friend

47) Ordered solar system book for nephew interested in planets

48) Sent tea to sister-in-law

Focusing on things that make me happy

Been so long since I posted something. I seem to say that on every post. But, you know, life keeps you busy.

Lately it’s been a different kind of busy. The first few days of the stay-at-home order the kids didn’t have school and some of my demanding work assignments were halting as travel and restaurant visits were prohibited. I spent the week before doing a little panic buying. I wasn't hoarding toilet paper, but I was definitely stocking the pantry and fridge not knowing what was to come. I just wanted to be sure there was plenty of food on hand in case stores closed or we had a complete lockdown imposed. So I was a little anxious about having enough food and being out touching things others had touched, but once I was stocked and staying home, I was good.

I’ve settled back into a busy routine. Work that was lost has been replaced with COVID-19 coverage. Almost all my assignments have taken on a coronavirus twist. There’s a million different angles.

But those first few days of quarantine were sweet. There was, of course, concern for so many who were getting sick and losing loved ones. It was sad. I've been feeling such sympathy for those working on the front lines. 

Here at home, though, it was kind of like going to that cocoon of having a newborn where you don’t leave the house for days and get used to life in pajamas or to the time when you get an unexpected snow day and you can take a big breath and for a day just let everything else go.

I’ve enjoyed my time at home being around the boys more. They’re growing up and it’s a rare day when they are all at home and no one goes anywhere. There really have only been a handful of those as hubby and my two oldest boys have continued working through it all.

But having everyone here at home more often than normal during the pandemic has been a silver lining to all this. Nights of doing puzzles or playing board games together. Not setting alarms or worrying about them sleeping late. Hearing their laughter as they play a video game together or share a funny YouTube video. Seeing them snuggle with the dogs or taking them for walk or to the lake. Sitting down for meals together. It has been the best kind of happy.

Things are moving along and at some point - although it still seems in the way-off future - it will be back to normal. Everyone going different directions, running kids to work and activities, no time to stop and eat lunch, seeing the kids up late stressing over homework, a full calendar. I can’t say I miss it all that much. I’m probably happiest on the snow days.

Speaking of happy, I started jotting down random things that make me happy and I’m just going to leave them here so that when I have a day I’m feeling overwhelmed or just down, I’ll can come back and be reminded of some of the little things that can cheer me up. I’ll continue to add to it.

Mariachi music

Superbowl half-time shows

Fresh tomatoes from the garden

Looking at doggies and puppies (but not petting them. They make me itchy.)

Sunflowers with bees buzzing around them

Surprises

Elotes

My mom’s chicken and dumplings

Penguins

Floral prints

When my dog hangs out next to me

The song “What a Wonderful World”

New fleece blankets

Freshly-painted fingernails

When a handsome elderly gentleman smiles and you can see in his eyes that he was a really handsome dude in his younger years

Sausage pizza with really thin crust and lots of cheese - but not so much that the crust gets soggy

Baseball

Spring flowers poking out of the ground

Bacon

Any movie with Chris Farley

Rainbows

Chocolate candy bars with caramel and nuts

Baby giggles

Oversized recliners or chairs with ottomans

Food events where I get to sample lots of stuff

Being in Chicago (but I hate getting there and parking there)

Music by George Straight

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

Date night

Plopping down on a hotel bed with a big fluffy comforter and lots of pillows after a busy day of exploring a destination 

Smelling a baby’s freshly-washed head after a lathering of Johnson’s Baby Shampoo 

Old ladies who tell it how it is

A text from my Dad

Buying a dress for a baby girl

Being on an observation deck where I can for miles

Singing Go Cubs Go after a Cubs win

1980s movies by John Hughes

Bowling, even though I suck at it

The Office

Breakfast skillets

Seeing an American flag flapping in the wind

A long walk in the woods

The color blue

Country music

A road trip with a beautiful blue sky in front of me full of fluffy clouds

A southernly gentleman who says “yes, ma’am”

When someone compliments me on an article I’ve written

Pocky

Hearing my kids laugh

The Beatles

Elvis

Visiting a new place

Getting a letter from my aunt

The show Parenthood

When I get through all the unread emails in my inbox

A fresh tablecloth on the table before anyone gets crumbs on it

British accents, French accents, Australian accents - really almost any accent

Taking a ride in a small plane

When my husband drives when we go into the city and I get to sit back and relax

Being in the presence of a military veteran, especially those of the Greatest Generation

Being up early before anyone else in the house and hearing nothing

Looking out the window at falling snow (that I don’t have to drive in)

When hubby gets me flowers or picks them for me

Thin, fresh English toffee 

Bath bombs

Tiramisu

The Blues Brothers

Watching a children’s choir sing

Parades

Chocolate covered peanuts or pecans

Peach Belinis 

Spending time by the water - especially a large body of water where I can’t see what’s on the other side

Saturday Night Live Skits

A nice new shirt that is a pretty pastel color that doesn’t have stains on it yet

Sunshine

Sunshine coming out after a light rain and seeing drops on leaves brightened by the sun

Sitting at Wrigley Field on a warm (but not hot) spring or summer afternoon for a day game

Pork Schnitzel with lots of lemon squeezed on it

Live concerts

Six Ways to Make Easter Special This Year

Easter will be a strange one this year. We’re in a weird time of social distancing. I call it physical distancing, which I got from James Corden. In some ways, we are more social than ever. Lately I have been on FaceTime with my sisters almost everyday. We’ve never been in touch as much as we are now.

This year, it’s important to keep some of the special traditions and make the holiday as normal as possible for young kids. But it’s also a good time to start some new fun or just quirky and odd traditions. Those are the ones they’ll remember.

If you’re a fan of the show This is Us, you’ll know that the Pearsons always have hot dogs rolled in cheese and cracker crumbs and watch one of the Police Academy movies on Thanksgiving because of one disastrous Thanksgiving experience.

We all remember the scene in A Christmas Story when Ralphie and his family had duck at a Chinese restaurant for Christmas dinner because the Bumpass’ mangy dogs barged in and ate the turkey.

So maybe this will be the year you have tuna salad and ice cream for Easter because you’re taking the stay-at-home orders very seriously and that’s all you have in your fridge or freezer.

Here are six ideas to make your Easter at home a special one for your family this year.

#1 - Have a backyard Easter egg hunt

Even if you can’t go out to your local park with your kids for an uber competitive egg hunt, you can still do one at home. Fill plastic eggs with candy, coins, little toys and scatter them in the yard for the kids to find.

#2 - Play a fun game

I’ll share a favorite game our family has played over the years that is a hit with young kids. My brother, Mark, came up with it way back in the 70s or 80s. It’s called the question/answer game. All you need is some small slips of paper and a pen and two bowls. 

Think up some questions - they can be super basic, or funny or related to current events or pop culture or whatever. It could be as simple as “What Color Is the Sky?” for your question and “Blue” for your answer. You put all the questions in one bowl and the answers in another bowl. Then you draw one of each. The answers rarely match up and you end up with some comical answers. If you have plastic eggs, put your questions and answers in eggs.

#3 - Find a church that is streaming services

Going to church as a family is a big Easter tradition for a lot of people. If your church isn’t streaming services, find one that is. Start by looking for other local churches. 

Holy Name Cathedral is streaming several services this week. They streamed a Holy Thursday mass, are having nightly 6 p.m. interactive prayer times on Zoom and are streaming on Easter starting at 6 a.m.

#4 - Do an Easter Family Photo Shoot

Since you can’t get to a studio or meet up with your favorite photographer, plan a DIY photo shoot. Either dress everyone up as you normally would or take the opportunity to do a silly shoot. Get everyone in their sweatpants and put on homemade masks (or photoshop them in) and hold baskets with toilet paper and Lysol in them and cue the sad faces.

Outdoor light is great for beginners - no need to use a flash. Find a backdrop in your yard or somewhere nearby where there’s green your background. Also, try out the portrait mode on your iPhone. You’d be surprised and what good pics you can get.

#5 - Pick up Easter dinner from a local restaurant 

It’s been a rough time for restaurants. If ever there was a time to splurge on a catered holiday meal, this is it. With the absence of dining room traffic, a lot of restaurants are struggling. Support them with your order and take the day off from cooking. Most places can do contact-free curbside pick-up. Pay online or by phone and when you get there, just pop your trunk. Find a list of Chicago and suburban restaurants offering Easter carry-out here.

#6 - Decorate the Easter table

Kids love to have some responsibility when it comes to holiday celebrations. Put them in charge of decorating. They can print off free coloring pages to decorate the house or make placemats and draw bunnies and eggs. Add some decorated eggs and make a centerpiece out of them. They can also make place cards and learn how to set a formal table so they know where the silverware, glassware and napkin go.