Tag Archives: people

30 Days of Giving

Posted on by Run DMT
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The other day, a friend on Facebook shared in her status update how she would be spending the month of November.  For the next 30 days, she and her family would demonstrate acts of giving, which had been inspired by the book 29 Gifts by Cami Walker.

 

In her memoir, Ms. Walker shares how simple acts of giving helped heal her body, mind and spirit.  With the popularity of her book, she founded 29-Day Giving Challenge, a website which encourages others to do the same.

 

Admiring my friend’s quest and yet moved by everyone’s compassion for one other on the 29-Day Giving Challenge website, I decided to spend the month of November doing the same.  With simple random acts of kindness (RAK) over the next 30 days, I would be teaching my two girls how to do their part to make the world a better place.   With our small gestures of giving, we would let other know we care.  Even the simplest of gestures can mean the world to a friend or a fellow human being.

 

If you would like to join us in our 30 Days of Giving Challenge, here are some ideas to help get you started.

 

  • Participate in Operation Christmas Child by either filling a box or donating money.
  • Donate canned goods to a food drive.
  • Donate toiletry items to a homeless shelter.
  • Donate items to Goodwill or Salvation Army.
  • Donate items to an animal rescue shelter.
  • At Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts drive thru, treat the person behind you to a cup of coffee.
  • Pass along your unwanted coupons to a friend.
  • Leave unwanted coupons on the shelves at the supermarket.
  • Give your supermarket receipt coupons to the next person in line at the checkout.
  • Recycle old running shoes your local store. (The Running Center in Tampa collects old shoes.)
  • Send an e-card, card or a care package to our troops overseas.
  • Donate $1 to Miracle Children’s Network at the checkout.
  • Recycle old cell phones.
  • Purchase a Scholastic Gift Certificate in the book order form for your child’s teacher.
  • Donate old books/magazines/videos/CDs to the library.
  • Drop some coins in the tip jar at any food service place.
  • Send a love note in your children’s and spouse’s lunch box.
  • Purchase a car wash for the person in line behind you.
  • Pay for a toll for the driver behind you on the parkway.
  • Call an old friend to catch up to give the gift of time.
  • Take a friend to lunch.
  • Take some baked goods to a neighbor.
  • Babysit for a friend so she/he can enjoy a pedicure or a date night with her/his spouse.
  • Volunteer at your child’s school.
  • Print out some of your favorite photos and share then with a friend.
  • Visit a retirement home.
  • Give blood (if you physically can).
  • Drop a friend’s business card in a drawing to win free lunch at a local restaurant.
  • Serve a meal at a soup kitchen.
  • Let another driver merge into traffic in front of you.
  • Let the shopper in line behind you check out before you. (An idea from Nicole)

 

More than a simple list of RAK, I will be taking our 30 Days of Giving Challenge one step further with my girls to make our month of giving a bit more meaningful and colorful.  Since my girls and I love crafts as much as random acts of kindness, we will create a Thanksgiving craft to display their accomplishments and a cornucopia (the symbol of a bountiful harvest) seems to be the best representation for our bountiful supply of gifts!

 

For our cornucopia craft, the girls will cut out a cornucopia shape printed on a sheet of brown construction paper.  (We’ll use this one from DLTK as a template.)  Then, using the smaller templates, they’ll cut and color the leaves, fruits and vegetables to fill their cornucopias.  After completing a random act of kindness, we’ll record what each girl gave on one of the shapes and paste it to their cornucopias.  By the end of November, their horn should be plenty full.  Then, as a reward for their kindness, I’ll laminate their cornucopias so they can use them as placemats and cherish their gifts of giving every day.


Shoeboxes Filled with Love and Lessons

Posted on by Run DMT
8

PhotobucketAny girl with a shoe fetish will tell you, you never throw away the boxes.  These stylish ladies save the boxes and neatly line their closet shelves with rows of shoeboxes.

 

As for runners, there’s a never ending supply of shoeboxes or at least a new shoebox every three months or so.  

 

During my life as a running SAHM, my shoes consisting mostly of running shoes, Crocs and flip-flops which I wear too often to keep neatly stored in rows of boxes, but rather piled in heaps on the bottom of my closet.

 

Although I don’t save the shoeboxes to store my shoes anymore, I do save the boxes for a charity first brought to my attention by my friend, Lori.  I credit Lori for introducing me to two things: running and Operation Christmas Child.  Under her direction, our moms group, Moms on the Go, began an Operation Christmas Child drive every November. 

 

 OOC

 

Throughout the year, my daughters save the toys from their fast food kid’s meals specifically for this charity.  Naturally, they each prefer to fill a box for a girl and I fill a box for a boy.  If our boxes seem a bit empty, I take the girls to the dollar aisle at Target and have them pick a few more items to add to their shoeboxes.  This year, my girls will include drawings, photos and a letter telling a little about themselves.

 

For the first time last year, I pre-paid the postage for our shoeboxes on-line.  After our boxes were delivered, I received an e-mail from Samaritan’s Purse naming the destination of packages.  The e-mail included a link which highlighted the destination on the map and from that same link, my girls and I viewed images of children in Guyana holding their small treasure chests.  My girls found the photos gratifying and I appreciated the brief geography lesson it offered.  Most importantly, I truly appreciated the larger lesson Operation Christmas Child has taught my girls year after year:  Our small boxes of joy have a huge impact on another child.

 

Thanks to Lori, my girls and I look forward to Operation Christmas Child every November.  It brings us such pleasure to fill another child’s life with joy and love.

Photobucket

So Long Lori

Posted on by Run DMT
12

IMG_9701“Do you need anything?” I asked Lori when I called to check on her.

 

“Nah, I’m all right.  Wait a minute.  I need paper towels.  I don’t have any left.”

 

The movers had packed away the entire contents of her house and now brimful boxes awaited the moving truck in the morning.

 

When I delivered the roll of towels, I noticed Lori’s children, Shelby and Jake, chasing their friends down the block.  That would be the last time I saw their little smiling faces.

 

Tiffany, our running partner, and her children were part of the herd of children playing in the street.   Tiffany and I chatted about our Saturday morning run and coordinated the details of where to meet.  Lori listened in as we spoke.  A small lump in my throat formed as I held back the tears and the thought of Lori not running with us anymore.

 

Being a military family, Lori has become accustomed to the quickly formed friendships and short residencies where her husband, Larry, is stationed.  With each three-year placement, she learned to adapt over the years and each new city becomes her Home Sweet Home For Now.  But for the friends she leaves behind, we can’t adjust to thought of her leaving nor can we bear to lose the sweetness she and her family have added to our lives.

 

Lori is the sole reason I started running.  For years, my DH tried to encourage me to run, but I only laughed at the idea.  But when Lori coaxed me into running, she taught me how to start small with short runs and distances.  Thanks to her constant support, I eventually ran many miles.

 

For our first race (Turkey Trot in 2007), I only intended to run 1 mile.  Lori pushed me and convinced me that I could take on 3 miles.  Lori believed I could do it and with her assistance, I soon believed I could do it too.  Thanks to Coach Lori, I eventually ran faster and further.  Then almost a year later, the tables turned and I convinced her into running a half marathon. 

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Turkey Trot 2007

 

Disney Half Marathon 2009

Disney Half Marathon 2009

 

Last night, several friends and I said our final good-byes to Lori at our local beer garden.  I heard this has been the hardest move for her so far.

 IMG_9715

 

As I train and register for upcoming races, it’s hard to fathom Lori not being at my side.  I am really going to miss my coach, my running partner and my friend. 

 

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A Run DMT Public Service Announcement

Posted on by Run DMT
8

As I ran through my neighborhood last week, a miniature Doberman Pincher darted towards me.  I froze in my tracks armed with fists and a kickboxing stance.  That dog would have been catapulted into the next block over had its owner not called him home.

 

Then on Sunday, Lori and I witnessed two small dogs chasing down another runner.  These dogs had been let out to pee but decided to hound an innocent runner instead.

 

With the rising number of doggie disturbances, I have decided to make a public plea. 

 

If you have no fence, then please put your dog on a leash.  Otherwise, you are putting your dog at risk to be kicked in the head.

 

This might sound cruel, but when a small dog comes yapping around my ankles, all I see is this…

 

 

I don’t care how cute your dog may be.  Fur and fangs are not cute to this runner just wanting to finish her miles.  When Cujo comes gunning for my calves, he is going to get kicked in the jowls.