Kindness

Some time ago I read a blog post by a homeschooling mama who spent the winter with her children committing random acts of kindness.  That post stuck with me and for the last six months or so I have been making a list of random acts of kindness that I planned on committing with Grayson this winter (dear me I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to it). My plan is to spend Advent committing at least one random act of kindness per day- though it may not be realistic to include Grayson in every single one, he will be a part of many of them. I think at 3 years 2 months he will be old enough to begin to understand what we are doing and the value of it- and I didn't do it before know because I wasn't certain it would impact him.  I do pay it forward myself- buy the random car behind me their Starbucks fix or pay for someone's toll- but I don't make a deal out of it or make it clear to him what we are doing as he is just two.  My list is coming along well and I am sure I will have enough things to fill all of Advent with.  I feel strongly that I want - no need- to teach my children about kindness, generosity, compassion, empathy and that life is about so very much more than the pursuit of stuff.
So that *was* the plan, in six months take G along to be randomly kind.  Then a dear friend who I care for deeply was hit with a sudden tragedy and a life changing diagnosis for her husband all within a month and I began to reflect on my blessings more actively.  Then my lovely friend Jen (of http://www.jenhuszphotography.com/) posted a blog post about how recent events in her life and the lives of those around her were inspiring her to pay it forward and asked for her readers ideas of how they would/could pay it forward. And it hit me- I don't have to wait to start our mission of kindness! Grayson may not be old enough to fully understand everything we are doing or the whole reason behind each and every act we commit- but he is young and impressionable and genuinely kind and perhaps now is actually the PERFECT time to begin engaging him and including him in the commission of acts of kindness.
So my goal is revised- (daily acts during Advent stand)- Grayson and I will commit no less than one random and deliberate act of kindness each week of my summer break.  We will begin in July, we will formally end the experiment in August- though I predict it may stick.  I will certainly document our adventures and our kindnesses toward others- so that he and I (and his brother) when he is ready can remember and reflect on not only the impact we can have on others but also the special time we spent together this summer doing these things.  I am really excited about this and looking forward to coming up with all of the activities and letting him choose. My plan is to come up with a list of activities or acts and put them in a jar- each week I will let Grayson pick one out of the jar and that will be the kind act we commit that week.  That should allow some planning, and help him feel engaged and a part of the planning of the activities as well.
I hope that I can do a good job of raising men who are empathetic and kind and compassionate- I think this is a pretty solid step!