We got started! And my adrenaline is pumpin!

Wow! That was really fun! My girls & I went out on a mission to find some RAoK to do. We walked the entire mall and scoped things out. The kids can't hardly stand it when we are at the mall and they don't get something, so we stopped at Mom's and got them a treat for some energy so we could get started! As we were leaving, a young family walked up with a little toddler pointing at the yummy desserts and picking out a treat. I turned to the mom as we left(sorry to be assumptive, but I think it's a safe guess) and tried to hand her $2 toward her child's treat. At first she seemed hesitant to accept until I broke the awkwardness by saying "you see my daughters & I are out tonight trying to complete our 365 RAoK for 2010 (our New Years Resolution) and I would like to offer this toward your bill and give you this ticket that you can keep as a reminder or you can use it to pass it forward to another stranger." Then she accepted the cash and had a huge smile on her face and said "Wow, Thank you very much!" The look on her face was what made us realize that's what all this is about.

#2 - we walked around some more to spend some quality time with each other. Later while we were walking, my 7 year old daughter, eating her treat from Mom's, jumped and squeeled, "Mommy - there's someone we can help!! Look! Look!" She tugged at my jacket and pulled me in the other direction. I looked down the hall and there was a woman pushing a stroller with 2 babies while trying to pull along another cart with another baby. My daughter asked me if we could help her because she looked like she could use it. We approached her and before I could even say a word my daughter was saying, "Ma'am! Ma'am! Can we help you with those babies?" She smiled so sweetly and said, "No, thank you though! Their mother is in this store so she'll be right out here." I had to speak to her to explain! I explained the same thing I did to people #1 and she said that was so sweet. I said, "You know what? This still made you feel very happy. So I still want to give you one of our tickets for our cause because this was my 7-year-old daughters idea and I don't want it to go unnoticed. So will you still accept our ticket as a Random Act?" She said, SURE! And she seemed to be very pleased!

#3 - When we first got to the mall there was an adult with 3 small children eating at a table. I told the kids we could offer to take their trays to the garbage for them and that RAoK don't always have to be about spending money. As we approached them we realized they had just started eating so our RAoK would turn into one of those acts we want to avoid...Random Acts of Awkwardness. But at the end of the night as we were leaving the mall they were still there and they had been pretty much done eating. So we approached them, (another adult had joined them), and I told them about our RAoK. They smiled and accepted our offer to clear their tables for them. I added a quick comment a little louder and toward the kids "and it's a great thing to teach the kids, RIGHT?" and winked at the adult.

I think we may have made a great night for a few people tonight. Our adrenaline was pumping when we left the mall and we were so happy!! I am so proud of my kids for doing such a great job!!

Here is what our new tickets say: "You have just been kinded! My goal is to complete 365 Random Acts of Kindness in 2010. Please visit to comment on your experience. Use this ticket to pass it forward to another stranger because "making little ripples of kindness will cause a tidal wave of happy people in our community."

Have a wonderful night everyone! Thank you for coming here to read my blog!!
HUGS,
Prudy