Happy Thanksgiving and My Live to Give Challenge

Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S.  I’m in my work truck on the way to San Antonio, Texas to make a delivery. My boyfriend is in the truck too. He’s sleeping in the back. My son is at home in bed…sick.

And yet even though we’re not home, I’m thankful.

I’m thankful that I have a job in an economy where so many people are wondering where their next meal is gonna come from and whether they’re gonna have a house to sleep in tomorrow… Because we’ve been there.

I’m thankful that my son has a roof over his head, a warm place to sleep, medicine to make him feel better, and a phone to call me and let me know he’s okay… Because there was a time that he couldn’t.

I’m grateful that we will be home tomorrow and we have food in the house that we can cook for Thanksgiving dinner… because there was a time that we didn’t.

Outside of those things, there is life in general to be thankful for.

During the year, I hear so many people complain about the things that aren’t working out for them, or the the aches and pains they have, or what their friends and family won’t do for them. And don’t get me wrong, I’m guilty of doing some of that myself, sometimes a LOT of that even. But while I know that things don’t work out sometimes and that many of us have aches and pains and that some of us have crappy friends or family, I also know that there are always other people out there who have it worse than I do.

That’s one of the great things about this time of year. It gives us a chance to regroup and think about the type of person that we want to be from this point forward… We get another chance. 🙂

There are so many things that I just take for granted sometimes. I am able to do SO many things that other people aren’t able to.

I have a house to go home to, a bed to sleep in, and food to eat. I have a vehicle to get me to the store or to the doctor. I have friends and family who love me (or at least like me a little bit). 🙂

I can walk, skip, or run (a little). I can talk, yell, or whisper. I can whistle. I can clap. I can stomp. I can sing (I didn’t say well), dance or climb trees (and yes, I still do).

And, I can think, I can reason, and I can decide what I want to do, who I want to be, and what it’s going to take to accomplish it.

The other thing that I’ve had time to reflect on is the fact that I’m even thankful for people who are rude, mean, uncaring, and selfish.

And while that may seem odd to some people, I’m sure that the majority of people (at least the ones that I choose to spend MY time with) completely understand.

I’ve learned from rude people to be polite. I’ve learned from mean people to be nice. I’ve learned from selfish people to share. And I’ve learned from uncaring people to give a damn.

Admittedly, I’ve also learned how to get even and to come to the defense of those who don’t know how. 🙂  Mom always
told me, “if they’re picking on or talking about me, then they’re leaving someone else alone,” 🙂

Icky people show me who I DON’T want to be and how I DON’T want to behave. So even THOSE types of people serve a purpose in our world I suppose (hey, I never said that I was happy to have them around… I said I was thankful…
there’s a difference). 🙂

Having said all that, I was thinking. My goal, always, is to do at least one nice unexpected thing every day for someone else. I don’t always remember and I don’t always accomplish it, but I do keep it in mind.

During the past few days, it’s become more prevalent in my thoughts, probably because people around me seem to be getting cranky earlier than usual this holiday season.

I’d like to tell you that I do it just because I want to make people happy, and for the most part I do. I’m very aware of my surroundings and I tend to notice people who appear to be sad or lonely and I love how it makes me feel when I can do something small that makes them smile.

That’s the desire that comes from the sweeter side of my personality. 🙂

So why bother with angry or mean people? For starters, I know that angry people can sometimes become less angry… Maybe they were just having a bad day.

As for mean people…

That’s when my “inner brat” comes out. That’s the side of my personality who enjoys seeing what type of reaction I can get. Some get angry. Some may smile and have a much better day. Either way, I typically end up with a smile on MY face knowing that, even if my being nice  made them mad, I just got even for someone they were mean to.

Yes I know. My mother used to tell me semi-regularly that that’s not very nice. But it’s just one of those little quirks of my personality that I’ve learned to live with and enjoy. 🙂

So I thought today would be a really great day to put it out there to my friends, family and followers to join me in a challenge. I don’t care if it appeals to your greater self-worth, your inner brat, or just the inability to pass up a really great challenge. 😉

Regardless, I think it would be great if you joined in between now and the end of this year!

The (Semi-) Official Live to Give Challenge
(AKA My Inner Brat Makes Me Smile Challenge)

Guidelines:

1. One deed per day, but feel free to do more if you’d like
2. It can be for an adult, child or animal
3. If it requires money, no amount is too small (I once gave a penny to a child who saw me pick it up and told him that it was HIS turn to be lucky for a day).
4. You can be known or anonymous
5. It should be spontaneous, not planned
6. It should be for a stranger. (It’s easy to be nice to someone you know)
7. Don’t scare people (you’ll find when you do this regularly, you’ll realize how many people won’t accept your help because they think that you have an ulterior motive… That’s why anonymous sometimes works better)

I think that’s all. I’ve never really put my criteria down on paper… I just do it. If I think of any more I’ll come back and add them here.

Feel free to come back and post the types of things that you do and, if you’d like, drop by my Live to Give Challengers List over at List.ly and add your information there too!. Believe it or not, sometimes shy people have a really tough time coming up with ideas so they avoid doing something like this. Your post could give them some new ideas and set them in motion. 🙂

I hope everyone has a happy and joyous Thanksgiving here in the US and that those of you not in a US have a blessed day as well!