Black Tortoise Press Gratitude, Things

2022 RAK Week #2

white printer paper with be kind text on plants Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

My family began practicing Random Acts of Kindness way back when my kids were teens. Now they have teens. This year, I decided to make RAKs my focus. With a twist.

CoCo received a beautiful Act of Kindness this year. The train conductor on her short commute Surprised her with a generous Christmas Gift. She’s still smiling from ear to ear with wonderment. However, I initially responded with suspicion. After a bit of reflection, I remembered an observation I got from a friend.

You are a much better giver than a receiver. It takes some humbleness to receive without the intention of paying back.

My dear friend, Nancy S (circa, 1980)

So with that in mind, I am devoting 2022 to recognizing kindness given. I admit it. I do feel reluctant to share. On the other hand, I like taking the time to recognize kindnesses of all sorts that come my way.

This week I put myself in a lockdown. Despite vaccinations and negative tests, I managed to get exposed to someone with Covid-19, not once, but three times over the holidays. I did manage to escape contracting the virus, and I protected others, just in case. So all’s well that ends well, as the saying goes.

Here’s some ways that people were kinds to me this week.

Kind Cousins

I got a surprise text from my cousin Tom and his wife Diane who live two states over. I only see Tom and Diane about once every two years or so. They planned to be about an hour away from my home and wished to come and visit Loved-One and me. What a lovely kindness!

Unfortunately, I got exposed to Covid-19, so we left it at “next time.” Still, the kindness left a warm feeling in my heart. I love it when people let me know I’m on their mind.

Kind Substitutes

This is a photo that a choir member shared.

Sunday I was supposed to perform a flute duet for our annual Epiphany Concert. Well, yes, last year the concert was cancelled, which made this year even more anticipated. With Omicron raging, everyone was masked, and the usual pot luck dinner afterwards got cancelled.

And then, I got exposed. First, one five day quarantine, and then another, and finally a third. Lucky for me, a lovely teenager stepped right in to fill my spot. Ellie played a trio with me when she was just a beginner. So kind of you, Ellie.

I admit, this kindness was a little hard to acknowledge. I so wanted to be there.

A Kind Phone Call

Okay, Ronne was trying to call a friend in New York and she FaceTimed me by mistake. Still, she spent over a half hour catching up with me. I was so happy to hear from her. After thirty minutes, we got cut off. Ronne called back just to make sure we had a proper good-bye. What a sweetheart.

Ronne Hartfield is a writer, too. A pre-pandemic photo of the two of us.

The official Random Act of Kindness Day is February 17. Visit the Website here. “The work to create a kinder world never ends. There is no limit on the amount of goodness we can put into the world..”

Use the hashtags #MakeKindnessTheNorm #RAKday #RandomActsofKindnessDay. Most importantly, “In a world where you can be anything…Be kind.” (And be willing to receive the kindness offered.)

I’ll be watching through my rose-colored glasses for opportunities to give a RAK. And I’ll have my antennae up ready to recognize when I get a RAK or see one.