100% Tip

In the last few months I have started to do something that I never thought I would do...get massages.  I know it might sound crazy to those of you that are massage fanatics, but it never was really something I was comfortable with.  About two years ago, I started to have trouble with my Achilles tendon.  I injured it trying to do too much exercise too soon and it has bothered me since.  I did physical therapy for awhile and it helped, but once I stopped going (because it was barely covered by insurance) the pain started up again.  

This fall I was talking to my favorite yoga instructor after a class and she asked me about my foot.  She had seen me having some trouble during a couple of poses and I shared with her pretty much what I just shared here.  She asked if I had ever had a massage therapist work on the area.  I hadn't and she said it might be something I should consider.  Apparently there can be some build up on the tendon that makes it more difficult and painful to move which then causes more build up that makes it more difficult and painful to move...you get the picture. 

So, with that recommendation and a painful foot, I called up and scheduled my first massage.  Let's just say I am hooked.  I have only gotten deep tissue massage because while I would like to just get relaxing, comfortable massages, I have some issues that need to be resolved to help me on my journey to becoming more healthy.  It doesn't always feel great while my massage therapist is doing the massage, but I feel amazing afterwards.  She is absolute amazing, makes me feel more than comfortable and has been a terrific source of advice as I try and figure out how to make my body work better than it does right now.

Which brings me to this blog post.  One of the things on my list was to "Leave 100% tip."  When I first put this on my list I just assumed that at some point I would come across a dynamite food server and at the end of my meal I would just double the bill.  Viola....and check.  But to be honest we aren't eating out as much as we used to and while we haven't come across any bad service really there hasn't been an experience that has screamed "TIP 100%!!"  Then a couple of weeks ago when my massage therapist had already spent 30 minutes with me before I even got on the table talking about ways to make accommodations to yoga poses based on my injury and then gave me a complete 60 minute massage with another 15 minutes of advice at the end, I knew I had found the right person to help me check on #21.

So this week, after my massage (which was utterly painful and awesomely wonderful at the same time) I paid my bill and left my normal tip.  Then I gave her a Christmas card with the 100%.  She and I have talked about my list before and while she didn't know about this specific one, she understands my purpose of going about completing this list.  I left a little note inside the card about how much I appreciate her above and beyond service.  I hope that she does something for herself with it, but she (as a single mom to a four year old) will probably do something for her daughter for Christmas.  It doesn't really matter to me what she does with it...all I know is that I left that afternoon with a smile on my face knowing that I probably made her day. 

 

Random Act of Kindness for October (and a cute picture of my daughter)

Things have been nothing short of insane here.  We are making it through little by little and I am just trying to take things as they come.  October is rapidly coming to a close and sadly I have to report that there has been little thought by me given to other people.  Okay, that probably isn't entirely true...I always have a lot of good thoughts...what I have been lacking is time to see those thoughts through.

So, for this month I decided that we would take one of the many pumpkins we have ended up with from our trips to the pumpkin patches...you know...the Fred Meyer pumpkin patch and the Winco pumpkin patch and the Safeway pumpkin patch....you know, pumpkin patches.  Anyway, Taelin and I gutted one of the pumpkins and with some store bought flowers made a nice arrangement to take to her daycare/preschool tomorrow.  It was fun to stop and spend some creative time with Taelin.  She was excited because she got to "help" with the scissors and got to figure out where the flower went.  It certainly wouldn't win any floral arrangement awards (I am assuming they have something like that....) but she was very proud of it when she was done.

Here is a picture of the final product plus probably the last picture I will take of my cold, hard-to-clean tile floor as the kitchen demolition starts tomorrow!

Cute isn't she....

Remember there's no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end. ~Scott Adams

I think most people are kind most of the time.  There are those people that certainly could improve on how they treat people, but for the most part the people in my life and the strangers I encounter on a day to day basis are kind.  But, when I read through some of the things that I have put on my list, it seems like I must think I need some work in that area.  

Maybe there is a difference in just being kind throughout your day and then going out of your way to do something kind for someone.  Holding the door for someone is a kind thing to do, but I wouldn't necessarily call that a random act of kindness, but then again...maybe it is. Maybe it is a matter of perspective.  Maybe it doesn't really matter at all and what really matters is that I am finding ways to be kind, big or little.  After all, Scott Adams (the Dilbert guy) that every act, and I am assuming that mean any kind or unkind act, creates a ripple.

For my own purpose of "counting" something for my list, I have decided that the act of kindness needs to be more than just holding a door for someone.  With that said, however, looking for those chances to exhibit kindness in a "big" way has made me more aware of the the little opportunities to exercise some kindness.  How lucky am I?  I get to feel all that of kindness come back at me with a smile or a "thank you".  And, maybe, just maybe that kindness will ripple through them and onto someone else.  That is not something that can be quantified on any kind of list..and nor should it be.

But, this post is not only about the little moments of kindness but the bigger ones too. Just today, I hand wrote two cards to people.  In those cards, I wrote a specific story about how something they did, an act of their own kindness, impacted me; a ripple started by them that had reached it's way back.  I also gave a simple gift, a framed photo, that I feel lucky enough to be able to give.  

So, as my eyelids get heavy and I finish off this day, I am reminded to keep looking for those opportunities. They present themselves often, we just have to be looking for them.  

Random Act of Kindness - March 2011

I have been trying to pay attention for an opportunity for a random act of kindness.  There have been a couple of times that I did something and thought "That's it!" until I realized that what I did was just something I should have done because it was the right thing to do.  So, I decided that the kindness I showed needed to be something I purposefully did out of the way of what I would normally do.  Enter...Starbucks Cake Pops.

A 12 hour parent-teacher conference day.  A 12 hour day in the spring time that results in very few of the parents you want to show up, actually showing up.  This 12 hour day definitely provided me with an opportunity to commit a random act of kindness for two of my many friends that were working.  So, off to Starbucks I went to get some of their new cake pops (which, by the way, I have unsuccessfully tried to make) for a little pick-me-up.  I committed a random act of kindness for myself and got myself some of their iced green tea (which I have also unsuccessfully tried to make) and headed off to the school.  Luckily, I was able to hand deliver the cute little cake pops, which were received with smiles and appreciation (which is what random acts of kindness are all about...making someone smile).