Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Only 7 more days until my birthday!


that's me when i lived in Monterey, California. i think i was around 6 or 7. My grandma had done my hair in those french braids. I had very tempermental hair and i remembered she used TONS of dippity-do and had to really pull on my hair to get it to stay in the braid. i think i had a headache when it was all said and done! i am wearing a shirt that i loved and wish i had today to use the material in some keepsake project!
but what is it about birthdays that we no longer get into them? i know so many women who say "i hate my birthday" or "i don't celebrate it anymore". Why not? I don't like getting older any more than the rest of us do, but it is my one special day (although i do have to share it with my twin brother.....). I embrace my day and love parading around in all my birthday glory! this wear i will be wearing my newly soldered tiara! I think i deserve one special day out of 365 days! Every 5 years i like to throw myself a party - unfortunately, i am 3 years away from another one of those! This year for my birthday i am heading to Ohio to stay with my friend, Kim Bueme and Julie. I met Kim online through a yahoo group and then we got to meet for the first time at Artiscape this past spring. Artiscape was held in Ohio and i drove 10 hours there by myself. it was really fun finally seeing her and then we chatted like we knew each other forever. We both even won an award for our trades, which was cool. (grin, grin, kim!) I rarely get to spend a lot of time with girlfriends, so i am looking forward to hanging out with her and julie and their 5 doggies! Pretty soon i will be doing the same thing with all my Artnsoul online buddies: Lennea Michelle, Laurel, Adrienne & Jean, Laura Bray and then all the Charmsters, of course! The most exciting part will be to finally meet my new BFF, Jan of Polkadotbarn. Again, we met online and have just hit it off. we email anywhere from 3 times a day (a slow day for us) to 9 times a day! we have fun talking about our charms, our projects, or sending each other cool links, our lives, etc. We have a lot in common, so it is easy to relate.
anyway, back to my birthday! i wanted to do another "blog candy" giveaway in honor of me and my special day. So i've been trying to figure out what i would do for a contest and what the prize will be. the prize will remain a secret until i pick a winner of the 19th (my actual birthday). Here is what i decided was to be the contest:
I am big into Random acts of kindness or "RAK's". So i would like for you to share with me a RAK that you've done for someone else. I will begin with myself. I enjoy doing RAK's. the world needs more of them as far as i am concerned! it is a way to say here, let me help with no obligation. because let's face it, everyone has a moment in time, where they could use a little help. I like to give people change or a few dollars in line, when they come up short. especially children, who might be trying to by some candy with there friend and they don't have enough $. so i'll give it to them. Or the lady in the grocery line in front of me is short $2, whatever. the point is, is that i've got it and she needs it - why not share? i'm sure they will remember and do the same for the next person. My favorite though, is when i lived in Las Vegas. I was at Kmart shopping and it was close to Thanksgiving. When i was leaving, i noticed a couple with a child living behind the store in boxes. It was heartbreaking, especially to see the child. So I immediately went to a grocery store and bought some things for them and brought it to them. I know it was only a short term solution, but i felt good that i didn't just walk by without lending a hand. I woke up a homeless young man in Philadelphia one cold morning to give him a nice cup of coffee and a doughnut. I wish i had more with me (like a blanket and a pillow) to give to him. I especially love to do these things when my son ,dillon, is with me - because it teaches him how to give. and i've seen him do it. He'll pull out change from his pocket and give it to someone on the street, etc. and without being asked! the last story to share was the time i was out to eat with dillon and my friend, michelle. it was the holidays and we were enjoying our lunch and some shopping. I saw an older woman eating her meal alone and for some reason, i felt kind of sad that here in the hustle and bustle of the season, she was by herself. (now granted, she could have been relishing her alone time!) So i decided i wanted to buy her meal for her. So that is what i did. i always wondered "what did she think of that?" If i had a lot of money, i would definitely be the type who did a lot of anonymous type of things like that. now it is your turn! So keep posting your comments to me about RAK's and then on the 19th, with the help of Tucker (who recently benefit from the donation of a hot tub), i will pick a winner.

29 comments:

  1. i think your nicknsme should be "rak" ..you really live up to that moniker...here is the one story that always has stuck out in my mind for an "rak"...working downtown there are usually people asking for money on the entrance to the freeway ramps..i normally give any spare change i have but that day there was a man that i had never seen before and something stuck me about him, so i gave him A $5 bill and he thanked me and the light seemed really long that day, so as he was talking to me i looked at my finger and took of the ring i was wearing and gave it to him, i told him it was a good luck charm and it had brought me luck and i knew it would bring him luck, it was 3elephants with their trunks up, you would had thought i had given him a million dollars...he was so happy and he thanked me and wanted to marry me! i have never seen him again, i am hoping he is somewhere and has everything he will ever need and he will always have good luck...xox~kim

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  2. kim, that is a great story! just doing something so kind (besides giving him $), made an impact on him.

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  3. You are such a beautiful soul Kecia! Thank you so much for sharing so much of yourself with us.

    Happy Happy Birthday to YOU!!!!!!

    I always keep my eye out for RAK opportunities. The most recent one was just last week...I was on my lunch break walking around and I saw a woman schlepping these enormous, very heavy looking bags from Ross for Less or somewhere like that. I saw that as soon as finished crossing the street, she set her bags down and just looked around like, "what am I gonna do?" All kinds of people were walking by her, just ignoring her. I remember thinking, "someone should help her." And that's when I noticed *I* was walking towards her and realized it was going to be me! :-) She was extremely grateful, of course, and I LOVED seeing that sweet look of gratitude on her face. I'm sure it helped her out but just as importantly, by allowing me the opportunity to help her, she made MY day! I love that about RAK's - they're reciprocal!

    Lots of love to you Kecia and I'm looking forward to meeting you at Art and Soul and then reuniting with you at ArtFest! Whoo-hoo!!!!

    PS...I LOVE Kim's story! :-)

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  4. I want to wish you the most beautiful birthday possible first of all..and since you are going to see our favorite faerie....Kim....I want to tell you about just one of the kind things Kim has done. Without any reason at all, except she is so preciously kind, she sent me some sparkly bling for my wrist, some sparkle for my skin, and some sparkly glitter to art with. That day that it arrived was kind of a gray day..and her "glitter mail" just brought all the sunshine back. And that is just ONE rak from our dear Kim.
    Enjoy your trip, Sweetie.
    xo Rella

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  5. Happy Birthday! I love to do RAK's. The latest one I did was where I sent 3 pounds of scrapbooking stuff to a lady that I never met before. She is poor and has 5 kids and loves to scrapbook. I know her mom through a message board, and she gave me her address. Thanks!
    CheryL KVD

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  6. I love RAKs too! I have been the recipient of so many RAK's that I could write a book! I am going to blog about one of them this week. My son and I go to a Single Parent's retreat weekend each Winter (originally it was given to us as a gift by some friends that enjoyed the family camps there and wanted us to have those great memories too!!see what I mean about being the recipient!!) Anyway, we had been going for a couple of years and the first year we met the sweetest mother and her two boys, they were in the cabin next to ours. You could tell she was such a good mother and her boys were so mannered and kind, had the sweetest hearts! They had won the trip off of the local Christian radio station and were so excited. The second year we attended the sweet family was there again and they came running up to my son and I and just hugged us...like they had known us for years! We enjoyed their company and I loved to hear the story of how this young mother was working and going to school to get her degree in teaching. She was graduating that Spring. Spencer, my son, enjoyed playing ping pong with the little boys and playing games on game night. They taught us how to play a game called Pass The Pig, lots of fun and laughter. I overheard one of her boys, the younger one say " I wish we had a ping pong table at our house". I knew from the mom that they were living in government housing while she was trying to get her degree and that she was looking for a place for them to live. Well, after the camp (and making lots of new friends and memories), Spencer and I returned home and began shopping for a ping pong table...the kind that makes a air hockey table and a pool table...we found one online at Toys R Us and ordered it. We drove to the little town that they lived in and left it for the boys (from "Santa") just in time for Christmas! I have since then seen photographs of her boys and heard them tell the story of how they got a ping pong table for Christmas. In the spring, Spencer and I attended the graduation ceremony of the mom and got to catch up with them. She graduated top in her class!! While she was going to school, she never did her studying until she put her boys to bed, she did not want to rob them of their family time in the evenings. So many nights she would stay up half the night doing homework and studying. We were so proud of her and we are looking forward to hearing all about her teaching job at this winters camp! It blessed Spencer and I so much to do that, it made us thankful that we had been able to do it, and that through the last few years after the divorce, that we have had friends that were so kind and generous to us...that it was so nice to give back to this young mom and her boys!! -Sandra

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  7. I know that my purpose in life is to bring comfort to people and ease suffering. I served for 8 years on a crisis line and logged over 1500 phone hours, in addition to the 1400 hours I gave to various commitees within the crisis line-training new counsellors, a mentorship program and more.

    I have always felt my gift is being able to listen without judgement and to instinctively know exactly what needed to be said to someone in the most difficult moments of their lives.

    I feel that this giving has blessed me far more than it has ever blessed them-it allowed me to be more present in my own life and to learn how to surmount the boundries between people and tap into their humanity. It is a very sacred thing to be able to see someone's pain and not shy away from it.

    This probably isn't the kind of RAK you had in mind, but that is how I give back and usually people don't even know.

    Thanks for asking.

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  8. Thanks for the place of honor in your blog post!!!
    You'll not be surprised to hear that I have been practicing Random Acts of Kindness for years! Something else that joins us at the hip!!
    I do a lot of different things so am going to list them in list form:

    *Pay for single elderly women's dinners.
    *Pay for elderly couples to have dessert.
    *Keep boxes of crackers in my car to hand out to the people on the street corners in San Antonio with "will work for food".
    *Buy bottled water and food for any homeless person sitting outside of the Walgreen's in Kerrville.
    *Pay the toll charge for the car behind me at the toll booth.
    *Bake -from scratch- pies for people in our church that need some attention. Deliver them and stay for a visit often simply listening as they talk - Pie Lady Ministry.
    *Take high school kids and college kids home on break to dinner.
    *Buy a box of food for a family in need from the Angel Food Ministries that our church hosts every month.
    *Pray for random homes as I drive by them.

    I list these, not for any recognition but for candy.
    And I want to make it clear that of these acts that I do, I do in secret when I can. It makes it more special to me that way.

    Love ya, Jan

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  9. hey kecia! happy early birthday : ) you truly are a good and kind hearted soul....hope your birthday is absolutely amazing!!!

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  10. While driving in an area that i wasn't from, i saw a woman lugging a bunch of bags-and it was HOT (did i mention this is texas) anyway, she looked hot and tired and i stopped and offered her a ride-didn't figure she was going to stab me or anything-she was so grateful-only had a few blocks to go-but you would have thought i had driven her 1000 miles.

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  11. Sending you early birthday wishes! Hope it is a great one!

    One of my favorite RAKs is to purchase hot chocolates and give them to some of the street kids downtown Vancouver during the winter.

    RAKs are the best...makes you feel so good and when they are appreciated, that's the best!

    Cheers,
    Deb

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  12. wow, i just got home from work and have been reading over the posts. such nice people we bloggers are! and you are right, Jan, i often do many RAK's in secret. i'm going to add some more of my personal RAK's since i am the birthday girl! One time as i was driving home and it was POURING, i saw a woman get off the train and start walking. when i came out of a store, i saw her again just sort of standing in the rain, obviously lost or confused. finally i ran across the street to see if she needed help. she was going to an interview and didn't know where the place was. it wasn't even near the train station and that area really doesn't "do" cabs so i offered her a ride, took her there and then gave her some money for the train and food.

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  13. No act of kindness,
    however small,
    is ever wasted.
    ~ Aesop

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  14. Last Year around Christmas time, I noticed this guy sittong on the curb by our walmart with a sign that said "please help". I was in a hurry and was going to just drive by when I saw a furry head pop up. A beautiful golden retriever. My heart ached. I went to the nearest market and grabbed cans of dog food, some bottles of water, a loaf of bread and fruit. I drove back and just handed the man the bag and said "Merry Christmas" He wished me the same and his dog seemed to smile too. It felt good.

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  15. First I want to say how happy I am for Tuckers new 'relaxation machine' ! What a treat indeed and how awesome for you to get it all going and done :)
    One is never too old to celebrate their birthday ! Any chance to get cake and I'll take it lol !! With so many images of cupcakes these days too, cherry and lemon cupcakes with pink icing for you ( wish I coud join you ). And one is also never too old for sleepovers, just gotta find a way to kick out the guys lol ! --or use them as makeup and pedicure models ( evil grin ), but our son would scream and run off and my husband has such sensitive toes he would shoot through the roof lol !
    RAKs, can never do enough of them :)I enjoy doing the quieter kinds of raks, giving someone my unexpired parking ticket ( only if there's half an hour or more left ), slipping a quarter or two into a parking meter ( really not allowed but can't resist ), letting an elderly person go ahead of me in line, running over and opening a door for someone in a wheelchair or with cane/walker, my husband and I grabbing our rakes and shovels and helping the neighbor to cover parts of her garden with gravel ( took us 2 hours, it would have taken her about 3 days ! ), will also help out a child if they're short on change. Last year we had a 3 day power outtage in some rotten weather. We knew the linesmen were working their butts off. One day, on the way home, I passed a hydro truck and saw 3 guys working in the poaring rain, I felt kinda sorry for them, even tho it was their job to get power back on, they looked soooo tired and kinda sad ( some folks get real grumpy when there's no power and then blame the linesmen ). So I turned the car around, drove to a doughnut shop and bought 3 $5 coupon booklets and drove back to the truck, walked up to them and told them 'Thank-you' for what they are doing, and produced the booklets. At that moment they looked like little boys with these funny and sweet incredulous faces, my mother instinct wanted to hug them and tell them everything would be okay lol ! So off I walked feeling warm, knowing they could get out of the rain and enjoy something warm and tasty.
    Could go on but other folks need to write too lol !!
    Hope we see a pic. of you on your birthday ?
    Big squidges, Tracy xOO

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  16. ok- a quick RAK- i saw a woman in the parking lot of the supermarket with her two kids begging for a few dollars. instead of giving her some cash, (ok, i'm a sceptic)i took her into the market and bought her groceries. she was incredibly grateful, and the kids were thrilled to be given treats.
    ....and Happy Birthday to you!
    connie

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  17. Happy early Birthday! I no longer celebrate my birthday because 1) almost everyone (including family) forgets. Last year all but two friends, my parents, my sister and my grandmother forgot. Even my brother didn't remember. 2) noone has time as its two days before christmas 3) most people (friends and family) choose to give me a bigger christmas gift (saying happy christmas on the card) instead. My parents are the only ones to give me birthday gifts and just small ones as the big one comes with christmas. Pluss its hard getting older when you are stuck in one place and life just passes by too fast. So now I try just not to expect anything anymore and its fine:) Pluss I celebrate other people's birthdays instead:D Thats nice too!

    As for RAK's.. I did various volunteer work from I was 9 and still do. Since I am ill I can only do it via internet now but at least I still do something:)

    Some I did while travelling:

    In the Netherlands I once ran after a guy who was bicycling away after leaving all his money still stuck in the atm machine. Which might not seem like a RAK. But with my illness it felt like running the marthon and left me bedbound for days. It was a lot of money though and he was very happy:)

    When we where in Riga more than 12 years ago people where so poor. There where beggars on each street corner and long roads with people needing free food. It was awful to see. We tried doing some stuff when we where there and when we left we put almost all the clothes we had used and all the bedshets (all cleaned off course) in bags next too the trash bins in the park where we had seen people look for food. In less than five minutes they where all gone. It was surreal and why I remember it so well. Even though I was "just" a teenager at the time. The whole city was surreal at the time. The zoo was depant on visitors to feed the animals so we went several times a week. A lot of people would make the bears (former circus animals) dance for bread but I would just through it down. It would make other visitors angry but I wasn't going to see the thin bears have to suffer for food.

    Also the first times I visited Bosnia (shortly after the civil war) there where gypsy kids everywhere begging for money. We ended up buying them loads of toys (well those we could find. The shops where pretty empty). I will never forget their faces. Sadly their parents made them bring them back and ask for money instead. We did manage to make them keep them but I seem to remember it costed some money to finace the parents alchohol addiction:( But the kids finally got toys:D

    When I was in Polen helping to build a day care for mentally handicapped children I voluentered to go on a trip with them to chruch. It was pretty bizare to not only sit through an intire Catholic cermony in Polish (!) but the fact that these children went to chruch and even had to go to confession (grr..). But it was still a lovely expreience because the children where so full of joy and I don't think I have ever met a group of people so able to spread that much happiness unconditionally.

    Also I talk to people. And people talk to me. I have talked to so many lonely old people who everyone ignored. You know the one sitting at bus stops talking about their dead husbands or wifes.. I actually find many of them rather fascinating and nice. I have a lot of nice chats with homeless persons, drug addicts, even relgious fantatics. Pluss tourists and kids. Me and my ex bought a beer for a homeless guy once and invited him to join us(also in the Netherlands). It made his day. The cafe owner was not pleased. But we got to hear the most bizare and funny story anyone has ever told. Just shows me that each time you give a RAK you get some kind of reward. Not that you do it for a reward of course but its still rewarding.

    Although to be honest I didn't even know the term RAK until three weeks ago. Never thought about things in that term before. I like to do stuff for others when I can. Don't really think to much about. One of the things I hate now that since I am ill I cannot stand up for older people in the train/tram etc. because my legs will not hold me. Its funny though to look at the angry faces of people 10-20 years older who expect me to rise first (as you can not see I am ill). My RAK to myself was not letting them bother me anymore:) In the beginning I still stood up because of this and it left me bedbound for weeks. Not worth it:)

    One of my less good sides though..is I talk too much. But RAKS rock!! And hope your birthday will too!!

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  18. Forgot to say I love reading about all the cool RAK's people do. Some give me more ideas:)

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  19. *Pay for single elderly women's dinners.
    *Pay for elderly couples to have dessert.
    *Keep boxes of crackers in my car to hand out to the people on the street corners in San Antonio with "will work for food".
    *Buy bottled water and food for any homeless person sitting outside of the Walgreen's in Kerrville.
    *Pay the toll charge for the car behind me at the toll booth.
    *Bake -from scratch- pies for people in our church that need some attention. Deliver them and stay for a visit often simply listening as they talk - Pie Lady Ministry.
    *Take high school kids and college kids home on break to dinner.
    *Buy a box of food for a family in need from the Angel Food Ministries that our church hosts every month.
    *Pray for random homes as I drive by them.

    IF I LEAVE MY LIST TWICE DO I GET MORE POINTS???
    HOW ABOUT IF I LEAVE IT EVERY DAY UNTIL YOUR BIRTHDAY???

    hahahahaha

    Mailed your present this morning - yer gunna luv it!!!!

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  20. yay! happy early bday!! My birthday is on saturday!!!

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  21. Kecia- I will be out of town next week(for my daughter's B-Day) so I am sending you Happy Birthday wishes early. I am also a rak-er and enjoyed reading everyone else's. Have a great B-Day!
    Suze

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  22. I'm so glad your family was finally able to use the hot tub! And I'm with you girl...CELEBRATE every birthday! Embrace it with grace & dignity, and celebrate with JOY for the rest of the journey! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you...'hope your day is awesome!!
    'Not sure if this qualifies as a RAK, but every year I make a "Birthday care package" for someone who's moved away from home & is attending University or College. I buy a pile of "treats" (such as a box of granola bars, bag of mini Oreos, chocolate bars, herbal tea & hot chocolate, Post-it notes & funky pens, microwave popcorn, cup-a-soup, fruit roll-ups, pudding cups, fruit cups, Skittles, chips, makeup bag filled with lip gloss, nail polish,lotions, etc.)...really, anything you think they'd enjoy! Then I wrap up each item (or package) in a variety of fun gift wrap, include a quote, funny story or encouraging verse with each package, and then write on the outside of each gift..."to be opened on - (& the date)". Then, they have a gift to open each day of their birthday month. Many of the recipients have said how they look forward to opening their gift each day. It's so much fun! It really is a blessing to be able to give!
    ~Brenda H.

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  23. HAPPY BIRTHDY!!!!!!!!!!!~ I'm so glad you told me about your blog! I just love it!!! And of course you know my infatuation with your studio!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!~~

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  24. have a great b'day! your rak story is great.

    i can't think of any specific thing i've done recently, but i always try to be polite to everyone. i just think it makes the world a nice place.

    i do open doors for people regularly. it's funny to see the look on people's faces, especially men, who never expect a woman to open a door for them.

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  25. We have a home about a half a mile from our townhouse community, which is a home for alcholic and drug addicted men who have suffered some for of mental and physical disability from their addictions. It is run by a church, and in the 20 years I have lived nearby, this organization has never asked from money from the local residents. The men walk to town each day (about 3 miles one way) for their groceries or just to go to McDonald's for lunch. Most people avoid them, but during an Avon party I had in the community center of our townhouse association one year, one man stopped in, not for the Avon but for the food. He has a problem talking and some obvious brain damage, but he was very polite and actually tried to speak to some of the woman in a most civilized manner. I was appalled how some of my "neighbors" treated him, being quite rude to him, he didn't get upset, just thanked me for the food and went on his way. A few month later I happened to be in McDonalds when he was getting some food, he didn't see me. He was short $1.05 for the lunch he wanted to buy and the employees there told he couldn't have the food and told him to leave. I got up from my table and went to the counter and paid for his lunch and gave it to him. It was a very cold day, so I told him I would drive him home, which I did, no problems. He thanked me and over the years if I see him walking I always stop and ask him if he wants a ride, he only says yes when it is very cold and snowing or raining, other times he thanks me and declines because he likes walking.
    And by the way, the time at McDonald's, after I drove him home, I went back to the McDonald's and got hold of the manager and really let him have it..the way the kids treated this man was disgusting; but then these kids are pampered by their parents up here and most of them have no concept of kindness.

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  26. Kecia,
    And happy birthday to you, enjoy your day.
    Leslie

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  27. isn't almost your birthday? hope you have a blast!

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  28. I came back to wish you a happy birthday! Hope its great! :)

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  29. Happy Birthday, first of all! I have been avoiding commenting b/c I really couldn't think of anything as great as other people's posts, but then I thought of something. I'm not going to say it's all that great but it's at least different...

    I was walking up to a corner store one night w/my fiance and we were almost out of our apartment complex when, what do I spot on the ground...a 20 spot! Yep, a whole $20 just sitting there waiting for me to scoop it up, with no one around to claim it or see. But then what do I see RIGHT next to the $20? A sheet of folded paper. So I unfold it and find some sort of mail that has this woman's name and address on it. I see it's a neighbor of mine. The back of the mail actually had a grocery list on it. So I know I just can't keep the $20. It's not the right thing to do. So I walk over and ring on this woman's door and when she shows I just tell her, "I think you dropped this" and hand over the $20 and the mail w/her name on it. She looked kind of shocked. And who knows, maybe it wasn't even her $20 and she's just a litterer. Maybe the $20 turned her whole perspective on littering upside down and she never littered again, if that's the case. At any rate, that's the RAK I could think of...

    ~Kate (from your Etsy NJ group!)

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