Act of Kindness #28 & 29: Alternatives for Battered Women

 

I sewed a gazillion pillowcases earlier this spring, but never got around to delivering them to Alternatives for Battered Women.   I know it’s crazy;  I spent hours and days working on these handmade gifts, but could not get my butt downtown to deliver them to the donation location!   As the month is winding down, I knew it had to be done.  

I also included 24 copies of a favorite quote in the donation bag:

(This particular design is from grassgreendesign on etsy, but I just printed out my own colorful design in Microsoft Word and printed it at home)

Grace came along with me and we walked over to the Strong Museum of Play afterwards for a little mommy-daughter date.  Maybe that should be counted as another act of kindness?  I wish that I loved it as much as she does.

And in other news, my love affair with Diet Coke has resumed.  (I promise this is related to Alternatives for Battered Women if you stick around)  I got hooked in college when my favorite study snack was a cold Diet Coke and a Hershey’s bar.  What a combo.  I guess I thought the diet part of the drink balancing out the candy?  I know better now, thankyouverymuch Weight Watchers.   The fake sugars in the drink trick my body into thinking that sugar is on the way, and when it doesn’t deliver, I crave more and more sugar.

I have gone months without drinking the stuff, but I’d be thinking about it every. single. day.  Pathetic.   I stopped buying it for the house, and would occasionally buy it when out at a restaurant.   Then I started buying it occasionally on the way to work as a reward for putting up with all the craziness over there.  The gas station sells a giant fountain drink for $.99.  Great deal.  Until I started buying it every.single.day that I work.   Yeah….it just kinda crept up on me.    There is quite a bit of savings to be had when buying coke in bulk, and  I’m financially minded, of course.    Next thing I know, there’s a 24 pack ($.25 a can) in the back of my trunk and another in my pantry.  And we are back together again.  Nothing can keep us apart.

This is a pathetic little story, so let me get to the point:  act of kindness #29. 

There is a nearby recycling center on Jefferson Rd.  It looks really junky, but the guys are friendly and they are much faster than those machines at the grocery stores that take one can at a time.  They pay $.05 per can in cash, or they can donate $.06 per can to the Open Door Mission or Alternatives for Battered Women.   It’s a win-win for me.   I keep drinking D.C., take the cans to Recycling Makes Cent$, and they donate the cash to A.B.W. for me.  Easy. 

Last year on my birthday, I intentionally did 34 “pay it forward”, “make someone smile”, “random acts of kindness” throughout the day.   It was awesome,  but this year, I want to put a little more time and effort by using the whole month of September.  I think that will give me enough time to squeeze 35 actions, representing my 35 years of life. I have a list of ideas, some are easy, some are hard, some cost money and some require time.   A few things I’ve been meaning to do forever and just need a little deadline like this to make happen.   I hope you’ll cheer me on as I do some things a little out of the ordinary; and if you are inspired to do a random act of kindness in my honor, I’d love to hear about it.  I’d consider it a little birthday present!