Random Acts (of kindness?)

So tonight at family game night the topic of Christmas came up. Normally we do some type of exchange with each other to prevent people from spending on everyone. We've tried to mix it up at times by doing something like a "service exchange" or something. My aunt suggested that we somehow donate to a family friend who is going through a rough time and is in need of many things, especially financially. So, at first I was like my younger cousin and thought, "Hey! I want gifts!" But then I got to thinking about it and realized we should do something like this. We all have so much STUFF and usually get people more STUFF that they don't need, but that they put on a list so someone knew what STUFF is least likely to annoy them. I'm all in favor now, and think that it would be great if we all at least donated the amount we would have used in the exchange (about $25 each) to this friend. How thrilling for her to feel better about being able to pay a few bills, and how fun for us to help.

Something else that happened this week...I took on the task (with my friend, Christie) of trying to boost the morale at my job. Yikes! I'm not sure why I decided I should be so bold as to tell the whole staff they suck at being happy and grateful, but I did. I read a book (Have You Filled A Bucket Today?) to them, and then explained that our staff has grown apart. We have started having cliques, being very whiny and had way too much complaining. We made a bulletin board with buckets for every staff person and made drops to put in them. It's just a way to try to start something positive amidst the negative atmosphere. The wild part is that so many people thanked me for doing that. Everyone said that we needed it, and evidently no one was willing to step up to the plate. Guess it's that IWU teaching me to be an "agent of change." : )