80. Do five random acts of kindness (The Second)

My day started off shit.  A jumble of routine-gone-wrong, children procrastinating and arguing and mucking around and doing anything other than what they were meant to be.  Poorly timed pooing from the baby (oh yeah... he sure knows how to pick his moments!)  No clean school hat.  Forgotten items of clothing.  Zavian taking off out the front door to the car with my phone and wallet but not telling me, cue me frantically looking.  The kids going to the car before I've said.  Skipping breakfast.  Running late.  YAY MORNINGS!

I was in a mood.  I was ready to call off my walk with Mandy and come home from school run and eat an entire block of chocolate.  Possibly two.

I decided to push through, simply because I wanted to put Zavian on his bike and make him ride well away from me instead of getting couped up in the house with him driving me crazy.  I won't lie.  Me and Zavian didn't really see eye-to-eye this morning!  It would be easier to see eye to eye with him if he didn't keep throwing himself on the floor every 5 minutes in a fit of rage or protest or defiance or just plain to get attention.  Oh I wish I was kidding.

I hate mornings like that.  I am thankful they are few and far apart.  Honestly our routine is usually pretty easy, pretty straight forward and we run on time.  Maybe I am a bit OTT about the way I run this rather tight ship of a morning, but honestly?  When you have an autistic child, a 4 year old boy with a stubborn streak, and a baby, as well as someone elses child here for the morning... you kind of need a routine!

Anyway.  I was grumpy.  I was teetering on the edge of having a meltdown of my own.  My solution was to eat.  Once Lexi and her friend were in class, me and the boys decided to zip to Coles prior to our walk with Mandy (I decided it was a better option than a sugar high).  I grabbed a water and a yoghurt and Zavian wanted a banana milk.  I decided to zip out to the cafe out front and grab a juice and piece of their absolutely bloody fabulous toasted banana bread... Yep.  Get in mah belleh.

I was still flustered and frustrated and hoping that the baby would not lose his shit in the time it took her to make my goodies.  He was in my lap.  Losing his shit could potentially result in loss of an eye sometimes.

Whilst waiting, an elderly gentleman struck up conversation with Zavian, who happily chatted to him.  He overheard me on the phone talking to Mandy who was getting her daughter sorted after discovering a flat bike tyre.  I must have repeated the words "flat tyre" as he asked me if I was ok and how was I going to deal with my tyre, did I need anything?  He was quite elderly and I think he had come on the bus from the retirement village, so I am not sure what he would have been able to do, but his kindness in asking was certainly lovely.  It was the first time all day someone thought about me and what I needed, despite it being entirely misguided and not my tyre!  I said it was fine and it was actually a friend and it was being sorted.  He was happy and told me it must be the day for mishap, he had forgotten his wallet!  Clearly a regular, they had started to make his breakfast before he paid.  He asked if I had a pen, and then he wrote an IOU on a napkin, with his signature, and gave it to the girls behind the counter.

I decided to make my day good at that point.
So I went up to the counter, gave Zavian some money to hand over and we paid for his breakfast and coffee.
I asked for his IOU note, and wrote You have recieved a random act of kindness.  Have a great day.  :)

The girls didn't speak much English, so I am not sure they really understood what was going on there.  But I asked one of them to wait until I was gone and take the napkin back to the man and tell him his breakfast was paid for.  She didn't quite wait, but I was off before he realised where I had gone.  I didn't want him to say or do anything.

And from then in, my day was good.  Do something positive, and you will feel positive.
These moments present themselves for a reason, I think.

I challenge everyone to commit a random act of kindness this week.

(80)Random Act of Kindness (The First)

80. Do five random acts of kindness

As a family of 5 on a single income, we struggle from time to time.  One thing I want to teach our children however, is that no matter what we are going through, there are people out there who are having a worse time than us.  There are people who are having a worse day, a worse week, or their life is far harder than ours.  Not to discount their feelings, of course, when they are having a rough day... but I really do hope they can grow to realise that they are very well off, considering.  Hence, the Random Act of Kindness (RAOK) goal.  I will admit - this is stepping out of my comfort zone because I worry about offending people.  But it's something I really do want to really do and to get the kids involved in, too.  Although with our first RAOK they older two weren't with me when it was handed over, they did know about it.

There is a homeless man - Wayne - who sits out the front of Myer in the Melbourne CBD who does water colour paintings.  Another kind person prints his paintings so he can make gift cards, and he sells them in the street whilst he paints.  We've known about Wayne for as long as we've been travelling to Melbourne, as Ty's mother often buys him art supplies.  I knew that if we went to Melbourne during my 101 in 1001 time period that I wanted Wayne to be a recipient of a RAOK from us.  This man, was like us.  He had a job, he had a home, he had a wife and a family.  And now he is homeless and has very little to his name.  He is a very good artist, I give him that!  But it just goes to show that you never know how your life might end up, what may happen.  Every time I have seen Wayne, he smiles.  He is very humble and very friendly.
It wasn't a lot but we as a family, and Ty's mum as well, bought him some art supplies.  Paint brushes and art paper suitable for water colour painting.  He doesn't know us, and we don't really know him beyond his name and a little of his story, and an admiration for his art work.  But I do know that what very little money he receives from his cards, he now won't have to put towards paint brushes and paper for a wee while.