Random Acts of Kindness

I am so sorry it has taken me so long to report back to you all on this.  I still do not have all the data, as reports of RAKs still trickle in, little by little.

First of all, you guys are amazing.  How can I ever thank you all for keeping my family in your thoughts and taking the time out of your day to do and share your RAK with me?  I never expected such a huge response and my heart is overflowing with love and gratitude for each of you.

I am not very good at blogging.  I was trying to figure it out and came across a statistics button.  I clicked it and discovered that my average post gets anywhere from 3-128 views (almost always closer to 3 than 128).   My blog about Kristi's birthday received over 1,000 hits in just 24 hours.  Thanks to you all for sharing the word.  My goal was to get your help to do 23 Random Acts of Kindness.  You exceeded my goal.   Forty-one RAKs were reported to me, with an additional 84 people pledging to do an RAK.  I also suspect that more people did them without telling me, which is perfectly fine:)

Your support in exceeding my goal made September 12th a wonderful day of celebration for me.  Every time I received a message or text or e-mail, I cried.  Seriously.  I am so overwhelmed by the generosity of each one of you.  I got messages from friends, family, Kristi's former classmates, people I haven't spoken to in years, and even total strangers.  I pray that each of your lives may be touched by Random Acts of Kindness and that you are able to feel the joy and love I feel when I think about this.

I am compiling all of your responses into a book that I hope to add to in the coming years.  It will be a source of joy, hope, and inspiration to my family.

I would like to tell you a little about one of my experiences doing Random Acts of Kindness.  I gave myself a budget of $23 (because it seemed appropriate) and did a total of 106 RAKs.  My favorite experience involved Popeye and Juj.

Peyton and I went to the store (with coupons in hand.  Autumn, I can't thank you enough for introducing me to couponing.) and Peyton picked out her favorite snacks.  Once we had exactly 100 snacks (mostly fruit snacks, we are talking about Peyton, after all.) we loaded the goodies (and Juju) into a wagon and headed for campus.  I thought, "Hmm...who could use an act of kindness today?"  I instantly thought of the poor souls who had to endure the nightmare that is the BYU-I financial aid office.  It was the first week of school and people were scrambling trying to get their loans and finances in order.  Anyway, that morning Peyton made two signs encouraging people to "Please Accept a Random Act of Kindness."  We tied them together with pink, polka dotted ribbon so that she could hang them over her shoulders and she wore the signs as she handed treats out to very happy recipients.  The first 10(ish) times that she handed treats to people, she ran back to me with a huge smile on her face and said, with her hand over her heart, "Mom, that makes me feel so good!"  I had told her earlier that we were doing it to make people happy.  She was pretty tired toward the end, and each time she handed a snack out she would say, "Not be sad, okay?"  She said it very quietly, almost mumbling, and people couldn't always understand.  They would ask, "What?"  Peyton would scowl at them and scream, "I SAID NOT BE SAD!"  Haha.  It was so funny.  I think she may have missed the point, but a girl can only hand out so many of her favorite snacks before it starts affecting her :)  As for Juju, she also did her part.  She waved to people and said, "Hiiiiiiii," while throwing treats out of the wagon at anyone who waved back.

We are really looking forward to next year.  Thanks, guys.

I'm sorry if  this post sounds like just a bunch of unorganized, incoherent rambling.  I'll do better next time.