Saturday, February 2, 2008

Everyday Kindness:Weekly Update (and stuff)

I know it's Saturday night but I can't live by my own rules!

And speaking of not living by rules - Congratulations to the lovely, effervescent, manly yet vulnerable Craig Ferguson - he was sworn in as a US citizen on Friday. Congrats to the 3499 other new Americans who were also sworn in. Extra props (as the kids say) to the woman who got to sit next to him.

Watch Craig's show this Monday, February 4. He comes on at 12:37 AM (I know!) EST but you can DVR it. Craig will share bits of the ceremony with us along with his recent trip to Washington DC - he spoke at a USO dinner and met some lucky politicians.

If you haven't seen his show you're missing a great opportunity to be kind to yourself.

We're all a bit exhausted here on the home front. I've been extra careful to pamper my daughter-in-law a bit and hope to fuel her so she can then continue to comfort her family.

I think Thursday's post was enough grief for awhile so we'll move on.

"Walking Woman" is still hanging in there with her exercise routine. I only got to speak with her once this week, earlier today. She rang the bell! Told me she knew something was up by all the coming and going and that I hadn't looked like myself (oh please - could I look like anyone else) so she brought me some cookies - diet of course! Told me to splurge a little while watching the Super Bowl. I will confess they're almost gone.

I metioned to "Walking Woman" that my nerves were a bit frayed but I was on a "program of being kind" - we talked a bit about how kindness can be contagious and can change the air around us. She loves the concept and says she's going to stop scowling at the man with the big dogs (he is a bit creepy) and will smile and stop to ask about the dogs. The dogs are lovely and I have already discovered that once you get him talking about them he is less creepy.

It rained like crazy here Friday and my house has issues with water. Turned into another one of my comedy mishaps. I'm going to tell that story as soon as I meet this deadly deadline that I didn't attend to all week.

I feel like making everyone laugh - including me.

My neighbor is having some troubles right now. Many aged folks in her family and everyone seems to be sick at the same time. She told me today that all of this week's "stuff" made her realize that "you gotta live your life, even when it sucks" - she made herself laugh.


Be Kind Out There

16 comments:

Jeni said...

Yep! Just like my lovely ex used to say -"Sometimes you eat the bear, sometimes the bear eats you and sometimes you both go hungry." I so agree with your neighbor's philosophy. Good post, as always, Kid!

Dianne said...

There's a great song Jeni, I think it's by Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug"

Sometimes you're the bat, sometimes you're the ball"

there's more but I forget - gotta pull out the CD.

Happy Sunday Jeni

Natalie said...

I really have to check out Craig Ferguson. Everyone I know loves him, but we're the only ones on the planet without Tivo and I just can't stay up that late!

CG said...

Oh i love Mary chapin Carpenter and that song! I don't think i've managed much in the way of kindness this week but I'll make strenuous efforts next week.

Linda Murphy said...

Craig is one of my favorites, I record his monologue every night and I was happy to hear about his citizenship. I got to see him live a few months ago and he was talking about it.

Sorry, my son is interested in the cat picture on the side of your blog and I am not writing very well with distraction!

Dianne said...

Craig at CBS

magnetbabe - check out clips at the CBS site. A friend of mine has a more extensive collection and linking her on the sidebar is on my list to do - want to ask her first as well. I'm never sure about linkie protocol LOL

cg - don't be so hard on yourself - being kind to yourself is just as crucial - and I bet you've done stuff you don't even realize - it's the little things cg ;)

Siren says hi to your son snoopmurph ;) it's funny, for all his unpredictable moments Siren loves kids and is especially gentle with them - he basically smells them to death and then wants to play.
and isn't Craig wonderful live!? I've seen him 4 times and have tickets for May -

Anonymous said...

To anyone who's feeling guilty about not doing the "kindness" thing:

Yeah, it can be intimidating, but sometimes the simplist things can have a big impact in another person's day, like ripples in the pond.

One of my favorites is sincerely smiling at the checkout person at the grocery store. They've got a tough job, and lots of hurried people are short with them. When I take a second to recognize them as a human being, I never fail to see a positive difference in their whole demeanor. Or when you see that errant shopping cart aching to ram into someone's car, and taking it to the coral.

It doesn't have to be a chore or difficult. You're probably already doing stuff that you didn't realize.

Debo Blue said...

Two beautiful posts Dianne!

Thank you for reminding us to be kind. I'm going to post this on my site to help carry on the fight:-)

Anonymous said...

I'm so far behind on your blog, Dianne. . . I didn't know where to start so I'm starting from the end, which is usually how I do things anyway. ;-)

It's nice that you acknowledged Craig's citizenship. I had wanted to put something up on the site (link away, by the way) but, well, it's been a week. . . It's not too late so I still may do that if I get a chance.

At any rate, I'm glad the kindness campaign is going well. This world could surely use more of it. And you and others have remarked, it doesn't have to be a big deal. Little things can make such a huge difference.

I love your neighbor's philosophy of "you gotta live your life, even when it sucks" LOL! That's great. And really, what choice do we have? The alternative isn't very attractive so. . .there you have it!

I'm looking forward to your next installment regarding the water issues. Let's see, shall I suggest a title? "Drowning for Dollars" perhaps? Or "Drowning from Lack of Dollars"? LOL!

You are a true gem, you know that? Hang in there.

Anonymous said...

I really love your blog, Dianne. I know the feeling about wanting to make people - yourself included - laugh!

What a painful week in your world. :-( I hope the healing can start and, truly, props to you ;-) for consciously trying to take extra good care of people.

Lisa's right, you are a gem!

Dianne said...

cherie: you're absolutely right! I remember when working at the store that a friendly customer could change my whole day. And I love collecting carts LOL - I smash them into each other and bowl them into the carousel thingie - must look like a loon to passersby.

debo blue: as always you have the kindest words to share, thanks

lisa: I knew you'd be OK about linkie love but I was gonna ask anyway. Don't worry about catching up, you only have 5 hands and 10 things to do.
and you know how I feel about you :)

jt: thanks! the healing is going to be rough since the court and police stuff will drag on forever. there's going to be a lot of one day at a time
but laughter does help, even dark humor has its purpose.

Theresa said...

a good reminder, to be kind, It is so easy to have an unkind thought when you see someone that is different - a smile does go a long way, and so easy to do.

Dianne said...

so true theresa. the guy with the dogs has a very intimidating posture but the dogs are soooooo friendly and he clearly loves them and as soon as you talk to him about them his whole demeanor changes.

Bobkat said...

Kindness is definitely contagious! It's a fact that if you smile at someone then they are likley to smile back and smiling makes you (and them) feel good! I have always maintained that doing something small can make someone's day.

Thank you for your kind comment over at my blog :)

Akelamalu said...

Everyday Kindness really works - it's a rare person that won't return a smile or a cheery good morning in my experience. :)

Anonymous said...

Yes you gotta live everyday! Those aged old folks know what they're talking about!