#7 - Mailed It In

My 7th random act of kindness was for the love of mail!  Way too often I open my mailbox and have nothing but bills and junk mail. It's so nice when something else shows up!  Keaton, my nephew, is three. He is growing up in a world full of technology and instant gratification. He can operate the iPad and has a tv screen in the car. This kiddo is growing up as a digital boy, and I love that, but every once in a while he may need to know what it feels like to rip open an envelope with a stamp that his aunt sent just for him. So, sweet Keaton, happy Valentine's Day!  You're the bees knees, and I love you bunches!

#6 - Virtual Valentines From My Mentee

I have had the distinct pleasure of mentoring two tremendous young ladies for the past 3 years.  They've grown a lot since third grade and I'm so fortunate that they trust me enough to let me be part of their journey.  I visit them every couple of weeks and we talk (mostly... sometimes we do homework or work through something or talk about college, but usually we just talk about important fifth grade stuff).  I know about their pets and their fears and their accomplishments.  I know who their friends are and know how to motivate them.  Both of them did exceptionally well last grading period and showed great growth, so we celebrated today with Chick-Fil-A nuggets, which I've learned is pretty close to the best reward ever for a fifth grader.  I don't count that as a random act of kindness, because I get so much out of my time with them.  Any kindness I give there is returned 10 fold every time one of them yells she loves me as she runs back to class.  I'll buy nuggets every day for those happy moments.  Today's act of kindness, though, came by recommendation from my dear friend Amanda Cloud who enlightened me to an opportunity to send virtual valentines to sick children at Texas Children's Hospital.  (Check it out at texaschildrens.org/valentine)  How awesome is that?!  It's very easy and completely free, so I decided my mentees needed to see how it works and give back a little.  This is one of my girls picking out her valentine to send to a kiddo who needs a smile this Valentine's Day.  It was a win-win...  she knew it was a nice thing to do and felt good that she spent a couple minutes thinking about someone else.  Thanks, Amanda Cloud for the heads up on a great project!