Acts of Kindness

When I got home from a trip to the west Coast in the winter of 2009, and came back to church, I was given a small notebook with instructions to keep track of as many acts of kindness as I could in celebration of the Reverend Barbara Merritt's retirement and the Church's 225th anniversary. We were to try for 225 Acts of Kindness. I thought it was a great idea but had no idea how to start.

I walk 20 minutes every day that I can manage and as I am a tenant in an apartment complex, I spend most of my walking time in the complex. As I was walking, I noticed lots of trash lying around in the Complex, in the driveway and in the sides of the driveways. I started trying to remember to bring a plastic bag with me when I walked and picked up the trash along my walk. (I didn't touch the cigarette butts, however.)

As I continued to do that, it occurred to me that what I was doing was an "Act of Kindness," especially when one of our maintenance guys noticed what I was doing and said to me: "People are such slobs." As I continued to do it, I had to agree with him: half full cans of soda or beer, somebody's mail, somebody's trash that was meant for the dumpster but ended up just outside of it.

I sometimes do my walk in Dean Park, a wonderful Park in Shrewsbury. However, I found that there was no trash cans available there, believe it or not. So I stopped at the Town Hall on the way home one time and talked to the Parks Department people and told them it would be a good idea to have a few garbage cans in the Park. They appeared soon after.

I had a wonderful friend living in the next building to me who hadn't driven for more than 5 years, so I offered to take her shopping when I went. She was good company and we did that pretty often. Sometimes had lunch after. Also took her to have her hair cut and to a doctor's appointment now and then.

I have enrolled myself in some of the programs that take place at the Shrewsbuy Senior Center and  once in a while I will pick up one of the members who had no other way to get there.

My daughter was out of work and trying every which way to get employed. She didn't have a computer so she started using mine to apply to some places that insisted on an email application.

Took neighbor to the Town Hall to get her telephone problems straightened out.

Took a friend who lives at the Westboro Willows to Hudson to do some errands. Took friend to Chorus Rehearsal, took friend to hair stylist for a hair cut, checked on some jewelry repair a friend was having and picked it up for her. Took neighbor to a play in Boylston, bought ticket for friend who couldn't afford it, sang at two nursing homes, loaned shovel to neighbor to remove snow from his car.

Followed friend to hospital after she fell and broke her hip and stayed with her until she was admitted. Visited her after until she was taken to a nursing home and visited many, many times. Helped another friend out of the car and into his wheelchair, etc. when he was going to visit his wife.

Took handicapped member of Chorus home, took friend shopping for 4 hours. Picked up trash in cemetery. Took some paper products to friend in nursing home from BJ's. Used to take her there before she fell.

Because of my keeping track of this, it is always on my mind and when I see trash on the roadside , or wherever I am, I get upset if I can't pick it up and dispose of it properly.

It has been a wonderful activity and one that is always on my mind.

Connee Ann Madeira