My 33rd Birthday...

Well, today was my 33rd birthday and although I haven't blogged in...oh....FOREVER!, I thought tonight might be as good a time as any to add a thought or to to this online journal of mine.  :)  First, my birthday.  I've always been pretty weird about traditions.  I grew up LDS and that means that I LOVE the history part of tradition.  I love the idea that something that my family does will be carried down through generations.  It's something that makes my heart happy.  Every year, on my birthday, I write myself a birthday letter.  It something I have done since I was like 15 or so and I haven't missed a year yet.  The letters aren't for anyone but me and I'm the only one who reads them.  I write them to myself on my birthday to be opened the next year.  I talk about all that I have done that year and all that I hope to accomplish in the year to come.  Call me nostalgic (in fact, most of my close friends have assigned this as my super power), but I LOVE it!  :)  So, I'll be starting my letter later on tonight for this year and probably finish writing in tomorrow.  Then it's sealed up and put somewhere safe to be opened on my 34th birthday.  It's always AMAZING to me how much stuff can happen in one year!!

Now, it's getting late and I've had a long day, so I'm not going to blog about all the changes in my life....that will have to come later.  I am going to journal the idea that I had for my 33rd birthday today and how it was one of the best birthdays I have ever had!  :) I came across this "random acts of kindness" page or quote or something the other day and it had some suggestions.  So, I ran with it.  I decided that for my 33rd birthday, I was going to complete 33 acts of kindness on October 11th to commemorate the day of my birth.  It was SO MUCH FUN!!!  I had a complete blast!  I left candy all over campus and books off my bookshelf all with a little note that read: "Today's my special day and I wanted to share it with you!  Please help yourself and have a special day too!" I paid for the coffee of the person in the car behind me and tipped huge at dinner.  I let someone with crying kids go first in the grocery line even though I only had 2 things and she had a huge cart full.  I left quarters taped on vending machines all over campus and washers and dryers at the laundry mat.  I called a stranger who had left the lights on in their "for sale" truck in a parking lot. There were SOOOO many opportunities that presented themselves throughout the day!  I had several pre-planned and thought of ahead of time, but I ended up with more than enough chances to do something kind for someone else.  Some of them were random strangers, some of them I wouldn't know WHO I had touched.  Some of them I know and love and see regularly.  I had a blast!  33 acts all day long!  Then I asked my friends and family to do the same.  I hope the world spread a little extra love in my honor today. 

Ethan didn't quite understand at first.  "But what do you WANT, mom?" he would ask.  I took him with me for the first hour and we did several of the fun giving acts before I dropped him off at school.  Only then did he LOVE and understand it!  :)  Smiles all morning and giggles from the back seat of my car.  Then, when I picked him up from school, I heard all about the 4 things he did for me as my "present" for my birthday.

1.  He let Kenny cut in line.
2. He went to the back of the line at recess and let everyone else go first.
3.  He let a classmate go first at the water fountain
4.  He thanked a teacher.

Even Sam thought I was silly when I told him what I was going to do, but in the end, I think he thought it was a cool idea and I think even he got caught up in it.  What a fun way to spend my birthday!  I am surrounded by amazing friends, family, and students who are supportive, loving, and encouraging to me every day.  It was really fun to spend my entire day giving back to a world that has given me so much.  Happy Birthday to me!  :)  Goodnight.