Pay it forward

A week or so ago my blogging friend Kristen had an amazing story of her ability to donate breast milk that she was unable to use for her own daughter Cayman. You can read her story at The Beautiful Cayman Cindy: My Breasts Save Lives#links

She challenged all of us to pay it forward. I put a lot of thought in to this challenge. The conclusion that I came to was that when I do thing for others I tend to do them for people I know. Simple things like buying a coworker a coffee or taking a friend to lunch. Things that I don't usually think of as being life changing. I've sent a couple of Hallmark cards recently and have had multiple people tell me that I totally made their day. How fun is that, a simple card changing some one's day. So lesson one that was learned is that it really is the small things sometimes that make a different.

Realization two.....Kacey and I did pay it forward with our garage sale. We donated all of the children's clothes to Catholic Charities CAPA program. My sister in law just happens to be be the Director. The Childbirth and Parenting Alone program serves single moms that need a little extra help. They can access mental health counseling, parenting classes and a clothing bank for maternity and children's clothes just to name a few services. So, I mentioned that my sister in law is the Director, well that might have a little bit to do with why my mom volunteers in the clothing room. Today my mom let me know that she had a mom come into the clothing room that was able to use a lot of the clothing that we had donated. So even though I didn't think I was doing anything that had the potential to impact lots of strangers that I will never know I really have made a difference.

OK So here is the funny portion of this story. I was so focused on having to pay it forward to someone that I didn't know I ended up giving the girl at the coffestand a gift card at Fred Meyers. I figured that she could buy gas, food, or really anything she truly needed. So yesterday when I stopped she tells me that she has a funny story to tell me. She had gone to Fred Meyers to use the gift card and buy something fun for herself. She picked out a kart full of things and ends up spending about $100 on stuff and then proceeds to forget to use the gift card. So my attempt to make life a little less stressful ended up costing her money. OOPS! I did tell her that her job was to pay it forward to 3 people. I'll keep you posted if she shares her work.

Thanks for inspiring us Kristen!