Perform 3 Random Acts of Kindness

Because I'm a word nerd, I had to be sure exactly what I was getting into before beginning this day (technically Day 3 of the 100 Days of Awesome).

According to Wikipedia, "A random act of kindness [RAK] is a selfless act performed by a person or persons wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual or in some cases an animal. There will generally be no reason other than to make people smile, or be happier. [Random acts of kindness can be] either spontaneous or planned in advance."

For some reason I thought it also had to be done anonymously, but perhaps I have it confused with something else. So that not being a caveat, I can think about the people (or animals, evidently) I'd like to make the recipients of my RAKs. Stay tuned ...

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So here we are at the end of the day, and I managed -- just barely -- to perform three random acts of kindness with varying degrees of success:

Random Act of Kindness # 1: Succeed

This morning as I left a gathering, a woman I know suddenly felt dizzy and faint. Three of us helped her find a place to rest, called her husband to pick her up, and stayed with her until he arrived to take her home. I could easily have left for work and let the other two people handle the situation, but I decided that in keeping with my goal of performing three random acts of kindness today, I should stay. I ended up about a half-hour late getting to the office, but felt very good about what I had done.

Random Act of Kindness # 2: Fail

I should never have read the “animal” part of the definition. But since we will not be able to take Oreo for a walk over the next few days, I figured he should be the recipient of my second kindness. So although he seemed a bit reluctant, I put him on his leash and headed out. First clue that things were not going well was when a guy four doors down nearly ran us over coming out of his driveway. (I considered committing a random act of violence on the hood of his car, but instead just hollered “WTF!?” in my very best Brooklynese and walked on.)

Rounding the corner, Oreo started the pulling and tugging against the leash. Since my elbow was already bothering me from the last time he jerked me around, I wondered how long this walk would last. The answer: not long. After he dug in his heels a couple more times, I realized this could be a very long and miserable walk, so we turned around and went back home.

Random Act of Kindness # 3: Succeed

Today was our 26th wedding anniversary, so my husband and I went out for a celebration dinner. About halfway through my meal, I realized I had a choice: finish everything on my plate or take the rest home as a special treat for my daughter. The choice was obvious … and not only would I be performing my third random act of kindness, but I was also making room for dessert! A win-win if ever I saw one! This one was very well received (and quickly eaten!) by Liz. And as a special bonus, Oreo got to lick the juices from the plate.

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I must say that this exercise was a lot harder than I expected, most likely because I work at home so spend a good deal of time alone. It did force me to think a lot more about what I was doing and what my intentions were throughout the day.