Random acts of kindness

Lately, out of the blue, friends have been doing the sweetest things. After we were in the ER with Skylar my MOPS friend Erin called from my driveway to tell me she was bringing in dinner for us. She knew if she just called and asked ahead of time I would tell her we were fine--so she just showed up with it. And really, we would have been just fine with out it, but she just wanted to bless our family.

In the past two weeks I've also gotten several nice cards in the mail from friends, for no apparent reason other to be encouraging and say hi. Then on thursday when I got home in the afternoon these were sitting on the front porch with a sweet card from Mary-Anne:

Aren't they gorgeous??? I kind of felt like I had a boyfriend or something:) Mary-Anne totally made my day with her thoughtfulness.

I am so humbled by everyone's thoughtfulness, because I totally wasn't expecting it and I know they all have busy lives too. I am so bad at sending notes in the mail. On top of that, I'm not the kind of person who enjoys talking on the phone for more than 15 minutes unless it's something really important. I think I'm a good local friend, but I know I'm a horrible long-distance friend.

My goal is to take 5 minutes each week to write somebody a note and put it in the mail. Five minutes is nothing, I just have to DO it. I started 2 weeks ago, and it's amazing how I always have ONE MORE THING to do before I sit down and write a note. I'm just going to throw in a load of laundry, pick up some toys, wipe down a spot on the floor, gets the dogs more water, etc....and then Skylar wakes up and I completely forget.

But I'm working on it because I know it's important to let the people in your life know your thinking about them--and I really do--I just get consumed with daily life. Probably some of the best mom advice I ever got was when someone told me "motherhood is consuming, but it need not consume us". We can still be a wife, sister, friend, etc. in addition to meeting the demands of a baby.

I really think if we make a conscious effort to do that we will be so much more fulfilled. It's easy to not look beyond our four walls in the "best interest of our family". Not that we shouldn't put our families first, but I think that becomes an excuse to not reach out to people sometimes.

So thank you to all my dear friends, even the ones I rarely talk to, you're all special to me!