I turn 29 today. It's weird.
I still feel like a baby, like I am only playing grown up. Do we feel this way forever, like we are always just WINGING IT? Neither here nor there.
To celebrate my foray into the last year of my twenties, I am going to celebrate like I have never celebrated before. I am going to celebrate for an ENTIRE MONTH...
...by doing 29 nice things for other people.
I am celebrating today, too. I'm taking the day off and cashing in my free birthday drink on a Venti frivolous something that will probably involve caramel drizzle. But I also decided that my birthday is an easy opportunity to add some structure (a number, a timeline, and a plan) to a thing that I am trying to do in ever-increasing measure: love other people well.
I can't expend myself for strangers this way all year, because I am busy expending myself for my family, for my inner circle, and for my do-for-one's. But I think this will be a special way to serve with my kids on a day that is traditionally all about ME AND MY GLORIOUS ENTRY INTO THE WORLD!
Here are a few of the things we'll be doing this month.
- Bring quarters to the laundromat and pay for people's laundry.
- Buy the coffee for the car behind me.
- Babysit for our neighbors.
- Bring a meal to a new mom.
- Volunteer with Madeline at the women’s shelter
- Bring a surprise in for Madeline's class.
- Give blood.
- Register for the bone marrow registry.
- Collect/return all the carts in a parking lot.
- Make cards and artwork with the kids for nursing home residents.
- Collect litter along our walking route.
I'll be documenting #29nicethings on Instagram starting this afternoon! You can follow along here.
Feel free to join! I'd love to see the ways you are loving your community.
Welp, off to the bloodmobile, which is the grossest-sounding thing I've written in a while. Stay tuned...
Kate
