Giving is Important. Helping is Important. Being Kind is the Most Important.

It's the time of the year that people are always saying that they love to "give back" but what I want to see is action. I'm not asking you to volunteer for hours (though that would be great) but do you actively seek out ways to make small differences? That's what I want to do. I may not always have grand plans of volunteering or helping to organize fundraisers (though I do sometimes do that) but I know that there are small things I can do in my every day that will either uplift people or help make someone's life even a tiny bit better.

I am taking part in Wayfair's Blog it Forward campaign. There is nothing in it for me, I promise, except to try to help a cause that is close to our family and encourage others to do the same in their lives. I received an email a week or so ago from our daycare's director. One of the families from our daycare is currently bringing their toddler in for treatment for leukemia at Boston Children's Hospital. Can you even imagine that? I can't. It's heartbreaking to think about. But what can we even do? Well, let me tell you. Lauren (daycare director) organized a Bags of Hope resource room drive for the center that "our" family is receiving treatment at. What did the kids need? Arts and Crafts supplies, hats and gloves, toddler toys, dvds and games... the things that kids would entertain themselves with in or out of the hospital. We're not just talking babies but they treat children all the way up to 21. It's something that I thought was an important yet realistic (for my crazy life) cause to take part in. I drummed up some support from fellow bloggers and we came up with a nice selection to bring in for Bags of Hope.

Shout outs to Lani of Mon Petit Chou Chou, Susan of Lifestyle of a Fashionista, Alex of Literally-Everything and Natalie of Chic Boston Mama for contributing to to our drive! You are all so generous and it truly means the world to me that you took this opportunity to pitch in! Now how will you make a contribution to your family, your community, your environment? It can be ANYTHING! I challenge you to do something today, add a little bit of kindness to an email or smile at a stranger. C'mon, you can do this!

Being Kind as a Way of Life

Me and The Propah Toddlah in our Littlest Warrior tees

I've been working so much lately that it's been hard for me to even feel like I am "living" a life. I know, it sounds dramatic, but I have been traveling for business, been on the go, working as soon as the baby leaves for daycare and right after he goes to bed... I've barely had time to stop and think about anything but just getting through the day and then on to the next. Add in the mix that the kid has been having nasty coughing fits in the middle of the night that wake him up screaming, yeah, well, things are just dandy over here in the Propah household.

Last night, I went to bed "early" in the hopes of getting some much needed sleep but instead fell into the vortex of the 'nets on my iPad that I now know is too tempting to have on the bedside table. I started reading about gun violence, viewing people's responses to tweets, landing myself on the NRA's page. An hour and a half later, I was reading articles on why Ending Gun Violence does not start with gun control but by stopping "crazy" people. I don't know if it is the stress that I have been feeling due to work or the fact that I read an article about toddler gun deaths just this year, but I started feeling really hopeless + helpless + all those sad feelings you don't want to feel let alone right before going to sleep. It's hard for me to put into words but I don't know how I can start making a difference and I am feeling a little frustrated...

But then the baby woke up in an amazing mood today and the fact that he was so happy helped me get a little happy back. He just had a way of lifting my mood/releasing a little stress that was weighing on me and I thought about it... One thing I know that I can do every day of ma damn life, is try to Be Kind to people. It's a great rule of thumb, right? I don't know and you don't know if someone is suffering inside... your act of kindness or words of encouragement can and will go a long way. From personal experience, this week, my stress levels have peaked and therefore I have been much more sensitive + susceptible to negativity. The ability for someone else to affect my mood is tangible. I am not saying that being nice to someone has any direct correlation to ending violence (not just specifically gun violence) but at the same time, does anyone know what a little kindness could do for someone in a negative head space?