Weekend Kindness
Reaching Others Through Kindness

When I dally with memories of childhood, it’s not music lessons, or time spent “on the go”, or birthday and Christmas gifts that come to mind. It’s all the simple things. Helping my grandma rake leaves into big piles, riding my bike to the library with my dad, enjoying my mom’s fresh baked breads and the feel of her hands playing with my hair during church…

I think sometimes organized activities take away more than they give. In making each moment count for something, we lose track of what’s sacred. We fill our lives and our minds, but what about our souls? Sometimes you have to have *time* to stop, in order to recapture the magic of “appreciating the ordinary”.

Here are some places to start, a word of warning though: Plans very often need adjusted, and sometimes the best memories are messy.

1. Pack a picnic lunch and explore up a new place in which to enjoy it. My girls and I will never forget the rainy day in which we packed lunch to a favorite park. Our intention was to enjoy it from the refuge of the park’s tee-pee, but sadly, the tee-pee wasn’t leak proof. So we improvised. Just up the hill from the park is an old cabin with a covered porch. We spread our blanket out on the porch and enjoyed being the only ones out on such a day…
2. Surprise! Do something spontaneous, such as loading everyone up in their pajamas for an evening run to get ice-cream.
3. Never underestimate the thrill of baking. Have fun making individual pizzas, letting each child personalize their own according to size, shape and toppings. Or translate this same activity to sugar cookies. Make sure you have an abundance of *cool* sprinkles and two or three frosting choices! And don’t forget the simple joys…children love to flip pancakes, crack eggs and stir up ingredients.
4. Play “pillow fairy”…this is especially fun for little ones who haven’t yet lost any teeth for the tooth fairy to collect. Slip something special under their pillow as they sleep, something “just because”… One thing we’ve done, is to stuff something in an unfilled balloon, such as a “coupon” for an ice cream cone with mom, a trip to daddy’s job, or a dollar bill. For extra mileage, write something on the balloon with marker. Then your child has to blow up the balloon, read what’s written on the outside and then keep blowing till it pops and they can collect their “coupon”.
5. Have a tea party. Go all out. Use the china and sugar cubes, speak with a British accent, and wear dress-up clothes. This is a good time to introduce your children to the delicacies of scones with Devonshire cream, not to mention a great time to practice “high-society” manners! (FYI, some of our favorite tea party sides have simply been grapes and pb&j!)
6. Home-made picture place mats–An especially memorable craft. These become keepsakes, to be used for years. Our girls each have one that features pictures of them and their siblings, as well as favorite pets. Use colored poster board and mod-podge the pictures, as well as card stock letterings and other scrap-booking type things of interest to your child. I wrote a poem for each of our girls, along similar lines, but unique to them and their gifts they bring to our family… To finish this project, have it laminated at your local office supply store, or seal it between pieces of clear Contact paper.
7. Make a special “book on tape” for your children. Once when I knew I was going to be gone overnight, I tape recorded myself reading several library books that I’d especially hand-picked, knowing they’d be favorites. Of course, this was all very hush-hush, and I left it in a basket of other goodies for them to discover and enjoy while I was gone. They wore that tape out…
8. Celebrate half-birthdays. These can be especially nice for children with birthdays coinciding with big holidays. Keep it a family-only celebration and brainstorm ways to expand on the “half” theme…make “half” a cake, with “half” the candles, give silly half presents, such as one sibling giving half of a pair of gloves and the other sibling giving its match…
9. Favorite places. Every property should have a “favorite place”. My oldest can describe hers perfectly. It’s up on the hill behind our home, by a large flat rock and a lone pine tree. She loves to disappear up there on beautiful days, with a drawing pad and a blanket to spread on the ground. Devote some time to creating special places, indoor and out, with your children. Then sometimes send them on treasure hunts that end up at that special place…with a bouquet of sharpened colored pencils or some such treat awaiting them there of course!
10. Build a bonfire. If you’re in the city or under other fire code restrictions, use your BBQ grill or fireplace/fire pit, or drive to the lake…in any case, build a small campfire and sit around it sipping hot chocolate and roasting marshmallows. Sing songs and tell favorite stories from your childhood. Laugh and be silly. Be refreshed and warm-hearted, just make sure you have sweaters to go around, because the fun will long outlast the sun…

Make the time to nurture. In this materialistic world of ours, nurturing has become an invisible, unpopular ideal. We all want to be productive and well-organized, but at what cost? It might mean staying up later at night to finally get the laundry put away, or the bookwork done, but the trade-off? Our children’s assurance that they fill our hearts, have captured our attention, that we love them and savor all time spent with them.

They won’t be children forever.

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