Wednesday Hodgepodge

February 17th is national Random Acts of Kindness Day. It lands on the calendar one day after National Do Something for a Grouch Day (February 16th) which somehow feels related. Perhaps the 16th inspired the 17th? Tell about a time you performed a random act of kindness or were the recipient of one. Will you make an effort to perform a random act of kindness on the 17th? Share details if you're so inclined, and if you have something specific in mind.

Isn't it an oxymoron to disclose a random act of kindness since the act of kindness is supposed to be random? And to have a day on the calendar telling us to be random doesn't seem random. I mean, if you know someone is having surgery in a couple of days and you want to do something special for them then that seems to be random, at least to them. But having a day dedicated to people doing acts of kindness seems wrong. We should provide acts of kindness whenever a need arises ... randomly .. not because we are told on a calendar that we should do one. I have performed random acts of kindness and had them performed for me. I definitely believe that it is so much better to give than to receive.

What's the most uplifting or encouraging thing you see happening in the world right now? You may have to dig deep for this one.

True, I have definitely been thinking on this one for a while. Not much encouragement going on these days, huh? And nothing stood out. So I just took my dogs outside to the go to the restroom and there was a beautiful little bird sitting on the back fence just chirping away. You know, birds don't care if the world is going to hell in a hand basket. They see a sunny day and rejoice. They sense warmer days and come home. I was encouraged by that this morning! It's something uplifting we can rely on. It's behavior we can certainly emulate.

Black olives, black currants, black grapes, black beans, blackberries, Oreos ... your favorite food the color of night? Your least favorite on the list.

Well, I must really enjoy black foods because these are all some of my absolute favorites! I just can't pick a favorite. I did eat black beans the last two days, though. I have never had black currants.

A while back I read a list of twelve things you should do before you turn 50. They were ... travel when you have the chance, take care of your skin, learn a foreign language, make exercise a habit, leave a toxic situation, stop caring what others think about you, stop worrying, volunteer, spend time with your grandparents, pledge to work less, learn to cook an amazing dish, and seize an opportunity as it arises. What do you think of the list? What would you add or remove and why? If you're over 50, have you done all 12? If you're not yet 50, have you done any at all? What's on the list you haven't done, but would like to do?

I'm under 50 and the ones I have concentrated on are traveling, taking care of my skin, exercising, stop caring what others think, stop worrying, and pledge to work less (lol!). Everything else on the list seems reasonable. Of what's left, I don't really care much about doing any of the others, but learning to cook an amazing dish would be great! Cooking classes would be really fun!

Besides the classic Christmas flicks, what's your favorite film where winter plays a part in the setting?

Do not ask me why this movie is the one that keeps coming to mind, but Groundhog Day. I love the little town with all the snow, and the scene where they are walking through the town and get in a snow ball fight with some kids. It looks like the perfect winter evening. Oh, and then Dumb and Dumber. Absolutely hilarious!

When did you last feel helpless, and what did you do about it?

Well, first of all, when you feel helpless there probably isn't much you can do about it. Having adult children brings this into play pretty often for me. This is where a strong faith in God and lots and lots of prayer comes into play.

Share a favorite Proverb.

Proverbs 6:6 - Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! Again, kind of random that this is the one that popped into my head. There is some good wisdom there, in a lot of ways.

Insert your own random thought here.

Looks like spring is coming to Missouri. The next 15 days show, primarily, temps in the 50's and 60's and even possibly a day or two pushing 70. If we aren't going to have some good pounding snow, betting stuck in the house for days at a time, then I would rather spring go ahead and get here so that we can get some flowers in the pots and some color in the world.