Day 158: Donuts for Police

Happy National Donut Day everyone! Didn't know there was a day dedicated to donuts? Well I didn't either until my wife told me about it last night.  However I looked it up and it actually is in fact true.  In honor of donut day I decided to revolve my act of kindness around those delicious pastries.  When thinking about what to do I of course immediately though of police officers.  So today, for my act of kindness, I brought a box of donuts over to my local police station.  When I dropped off the box I told the receptionist that is was too much of a cliche not to do.  She thought it was funny (phew) and said the officers would definitely enjoy them.

Day 157: Farewell Bossman

I have been pretty fortunate to work for some really great bosses so far throughout my career.  Today was a going away party for one of those bosses. It is definitely sad to see him go but in the year I have been at Lands' End I have learned a lot from him and really appreciate the type of leader he was for this company.  

Whenever we have after work events, I always need to make a decision.  Emma's (my daughter who is one) bedtime is around 630pm so if I go to anything after work hours I don't get to see my daughter that day.  In most cases the decision is pretty simple.  I love spending time with her and it is always the best part of my day.  People might sometimes think I'm boring, or don't do anything but I do not care.  Family comes first.  However there are somethings I do make that sacrifice for. So today, for my act of kindness, I didn't see my daughter tonight and instead went to say farewell to a great boss at his going away party.  

Day 156: Could've Been Worse

Tonight when I was stopped at a red light.  The person behind me apparently thought the light was green because she out of no where decided to start moving forward.  She realized it too late and ended up rear-ending me.  Thankfully she was going at most 3mph so I was never in any danger.  However my car did jolt.  It took me a few seconds to register what happened, but when I did I quickly got out of the car to see if there was any damage.  There were a few scratches, but nothing I couldn't buff out. The other driver was very apologetic when she got out of the car.  If I wanted to make things difficult I probably could have but instead, for my act of kindness today, I decided to make it very easy for the driver.  I told her not to worry about it and have a good night.  I hope she appreciated the gesture and does the same thing if something like this happens to her in the future.

Day 155: Became a Champion for Alzheimer's

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, my father was recently diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's at age 60. My grandma also passed away from the disease about 10 years ago so you could say my family has been greatly affected by this horrific disease. It has been the most difficult thing I have had to deal with in my entire life. However, there has been a silver lining.  I do now have the gift of knowing not to take time for granted.  I have a friend whose dad died of a brain aneurism when he was in his teens.  Basically his dad was healthy one day, and the next day...gone.  I can't imagine how difficult this would be and i hope to never find out.  What I'm trying to say is I am very fortunate that I am 30 years-old and get to spend quality time with my dad.

On the flip side, the hardest part of this is knowing what the future holds having seen my grandma go through it. One way I have dealt with it, poorly I might add, is going with the out of sight, out of mind mentality.  In a way I sometimes pretend that it isn't happening. Well today, for my act of kindness, I decided to change my method of coping.  Today I became a champion for Alzheimer's for my act of kindness.  Basically what that means is I will get weekly news updates and calls to action to help fight the battle against Alzheimer's.  I will also be participating in a Alzheimer's walk in Madison in September.

Day 154: My Parents Lead by Example

Today is my parents 41st anniversary.  Which is just crazy for me to comprehend.  They have been married 12 years longer than I have been alive.  If I have half as good of a marriage than my parents have I will be happy.  I am very fortunate to have grown up around such a good example of marriage.

My parents have also gone through a pretty tough time recently with my dad being diagnosed with early stage Alzheimer's. However, It has been amazing to see how much they lean on each other in times like this.  It only goes to show how important that other half can be.

Usually I get my parents a card for their anniversary but today, for my act of kindness, I got them a little bit more.  I came home from work with flowers to give to my parents for their anniversary (picture above).

Day 153: Traffic Control

I am in the process of moving.  Today I had to rent a big truck to take a bunch of stuff to storage. I think driving big trucks like the one I rented today can be somewhat difficult.  The turning sucks, everything is a blind-spot practically and the acceleration is awful.  Apparently I am not the only person who thinks this.  When I was leaving the rental place parking lot...I came across someone who couldn't get out of the parking lot.  It was liking that part in "Austin Powers" where he is stuck in the hallway with the vehicle just going back and forth.  Now I will say the parking lot of this place is terribly designed.  When I saw this person struggling I say an opportunity to help. I got out of my truck and asked the guy if he needed help. He did.  So today, for my act of kindness, I helped direct a stranger out of the parking lot.  Hopefully the rest of his ride went smoother than the beginning.

Day 152: Helped a Neighbor

I have owned my house for almost four years.  The first year after trimming the bushes and trees I made the mistake of putting the trimmings on end of my lawn by the street.  I assumed someone from the city would pick them up soon after I put them there.  Well I was wrong and fast forward to present day, i am still trying to regrow the patches of grass that were killed that first summer.

Today, I had to take a trip to the compost site nearby.  When I was loading up my car I noticed my neighbor across the street had tree branches at the end of his lawn.  So today for my act of kindness, I took the majority of the branches he had to the compost site.  Hopefully this will save that portion of his lawn.