Humble Acts of Kindness

During the holidays, it's become routine to take Bunny out to buy toys and clothes for underprivileged children. We also donate food to our local food bank and get involved in her school's food and monetary donations. In addition, Mr. Winey will cook a very large Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner so we can make plates to share with those who are down-and-out on the streets as well.

But then I came across a couple of mommy bloggers who started doing random acts of kindness and getting their kiddos involved in the process. It went beyond holiday giving and continued throughout the year. Duh!

So this summer I made a point to create a small list for Bunny that she and I (and Mr. Winey when he wasn't working) could complete and have fun with.

 • Cake for everyone! We celebrated my sisters birthday and Bunny decided she wanted to bake Aunt K's cake on her own. She had a very specific idea of what she wanted the cake to look like (big) and chose the flavors (chocolate, chocolate, and chocolate).

• After we each had a slice of chocolate cake from the tower of diabetes, Bunny shared the rest of the cake with our waiter and all of the kids in the restaurant! There were even more leftovers to take to a friend and her kids as well. Like I said, cake for everyone!

 • Sweets and treats. (Again.) We really love baking and we really enjoy sharing our confections. 
Mr. Winey held a summer band camp for two weeks and Bunny and I made sweets and lunch for our friends (new and old) as often as we could.

• Hot Dog Party! Bunny suggested to Mr. Winey that he should have a hot dog party with his band. So he did. 

• Then there was a water balloon and water gun fight for the summer band students (and Bunny). Bunny helped supervise the college student volunteers make the water balloons... and reaped the benefits. 

• We donated clothes to local church organizations. Many, if not all, of her clothes will help give a new immigrant child a clean set of hand-me-downs who have recently crossed over our border. 

• I paid for the person behind me at the drive-thru on a pit stop to Starbucks. Bunny said to throw in a cupcake. So I did.

• Bunny now passes out stickers to kids while we wait to be seated at restaurants. 

• We baked cupcakes for our local fire department.

• We baked cookies for our police officers.

• Bunny handed out bubbles to kids at her favorite park.

• Mr. Winey and Bunny passed out popsicles to city workers who work out in the blazing summer heat.

• Bunny donated a few of her gently used books to Burlington Book Buddies. She also donated the new ones she received from her book clubs (Junie B. Jones® Kids Club, Half Price Books® - Bookworm Bucks). For every book you donate, Burlington will match up to 55k children's books for one month. 

• Bunny handed out a bag of popcorn to kids at our frequent Redbox location with a little note. 

• Bunny drew a picture for our librarian and donated a book she received from Barnes and Noble - Imagination's Destination. 

• There is a quaint hidden eatery we go to as a family weekly that has those old-fashioned candy and gumball machines. Before we leave, Bunny leaves a quarter in each machine as a nice surprise for  anyone who wants a treat. 

• Bunny stuck Post-Its® on random cars in a store parking lot with a cute message or a smiley face. 

• I let a mom go in front of me at the check-out line. She had four kids and looked exhausted. I did the same thing for an older man later that week. 

• We baked cakes for friends. Just because.

• Bunny left chalk messages on the sidewalks at our local university. 


I was ambitious and thought we'd be able to do so much more this summer. But, between mini vacations, play dates, and summer camps, I was happy we even made a dent in our list! 


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