Stories by xenahugs (8 matches)

Door Notes

About a month ago, one morning, I awoke to find a note on my door. It read, "Don't worry. You were born awesome, not perfect."

I was going through a bit of a transition at that time and those words meant, and still do mean, a tremendous amount to me on so many levels.

To this day, I have been unable to find out who posted that for me. So, today, I thought I'd return the favor.

Stocked with little notes reading, "Be yourself," "You belong," "You're special," and "You are loved," I drove around various neighborhoods, posting them on random doors.

I trust that the Universe had me place them exactly where they needed to be.

An Encounter with a Guy Named William

The other day, I was getting ready to go volunteer teach my English class and I was pondering the current climate in my country, the United States. And I think I'm not the only one overwhelmed by all the disconnection and Fear and by how to try to bridge that with Connection and Love. And, time ran out and I had to go to class, where it was my night to get evaluated by the program director. It's such an honor to teach this class. It really is. My adult students are so dedicated and wonderful. They really motivate me to be as good as a teacher as I can be, to keep pushing myself to improve. So, after class, the director and I were talking about my teaching and she said she was so effusive in thanking me for my energy. Then! one of my new students overheard some of the discussion ... Read Full Story >>

A Cake For The Man Who Waves

I baked two cakes last night - one for my children and another to give away today. 

When I have the opportunity to go walking or jogging outside I often see a man in a wheelchair. He sits outside his home and smiles and waves at passers-by. 

So, my daughter and I packed the cake in tissue paper and colorful yarn, then placed it in a bag with a Smile Card. 

She was so excited to give him this gift! Her excitement and his happiness made it all so worthwhile.

Gym Break

I complimented a woman at the gym who was very intently going about her exercise. 

She then paused and told me it was the first time she had been to the gym in about a month as her mother is dying in hospital. 

I opened my heart to listen to how stressful that was for her, emotionally and physically. I let her unload her worries and reminded her to be gentle to herself and that, as a mother and a daughter, she was doing the best she could on all sides. 

It warmed me to see her exhale and smile at the end, knowing that those few moments of contact may have helped her, even a little.

Some Party Banter

I went to my friend's going away party last night and met a lady who was talking about how she's at a point in her life where she doesn't like people too much, how she just wants to move to an island and be away from people. And, I get why she feels that way, sometimes. The same age as me, she talked about how she has this expectation anymore that whoever she interacts with, they're just going to hurt her and she's sick of it and she just wants to isolate herself from people. I know it has as much to do with trusting ourselves to take care of ourselves as it does in learning to trust other people, but I didn't want to tell her what to do. We're all on our own journeys and have our own paths to learn the lessons we're here to learn. But, I wanted ... Read Full Story >>

Book 'em

In the Kindness Challenge, when I initially read the recommendation to gift a book, I was resistant as the first book that popped into my mind was a poetry book I had received shortly after college. I loved the book so much that after beginning my first full-time job,

I saved my money to purchase the original version of the book, which was printed in 1935. I had found this through a rare book dealer. I didn't want to part with it. After some thought, I realized the book was just a collection of pages bound together.  

I decided to anonymously gift it to a co-worker who's a bit surly but collects rare books. And, it made me quite happy to practice unconditional giving, while allowing the book to travel onto its next chapter.

A Precious Memory of Making Do

When I was a little girl, my mother, father, brother and I lived in a small two-bedroom rowhouse. My parents often fought, particularly at night when my brother and I had gone to bed. I thought it was something everybody's parents did. I found it interesting, that moment when I first realized that other families lived differently. I can remember knowing that, based on American standards, what we had at the time was small.  That never bothered me, not then, and not now. One of my most precious memories happened at nighttime. We piled into the car to go look at the lights in the neighborhood and then came home. At the top of our steps, there was a little table and on top of the table was a small Nativity scene. The barn/stable was in the shape of a triangle, which had glitter pasted on the sides, and it had a tiny, ... Read Full Story >>

5132 Lunchboxes Packed With Kindness!

As part of a club at school, my daughter has to do Community Service. We had been talking about different ways to fulfill it. She eventually decided to do one her friend suggested last night.

She said that they had packed bagged meals for needy people. She was so proud that they did 5,132!!!

Cool news is that apparently they now do it on a somewhat regular basis. She had thought as she was packing -  Wow, mom would really love to do this!That made me happy. Even better was she asked me to go back with her sometime!

Smiles For Remaining Days

A Smile Card Apology To A Lonely Lady

What Makes a Grumpy Bus Driver Laugh?

A Gift that Keeps on Giving

More Listening Than Talking

Chocolate bars, flowers, and a morning I'll always remember