#20Acts

I know it's been a while since I've posted, but I've been busy....  We have been mindlessly preparing for the holidays: baking cookies, shopping for presents, decorating the house, sending out Christmas cards, shopping for party dresses, it's all so fun and sweet.

In between all of that, we've been taveling a bit, looking at colleges for my teenage daughter while visiting family in New England; and then we flew to Park City, UT to visit family there.

Then came word of a shooting in Newtown, CT last week and I just stopped.  I texted my daughter that I love her while she was at school and I stopped dead in my tracks.  How lucky am I to watch my daughter grow up to be so sweet and loving.  How lucky we are to be able to fly all over the country and visit our healthy family members.  How lucky are we to be able to spend the holidays exchanging gifts with loved ones.  Oh my blessings are too many to count.  I keep crying.

Its' so sad and incomprehensible that every time I think of it I cry.  I watched the president address the nation and I cried.  I woke up the next day and read some more about it and I cried.  I was out having brunch with some girlfriends on Sunday and when the conversation turned to the shooting I cried.  All this crying is getting us nowhere.

Thanks to Ann Curry and her idea of #20acts, I feel completed re-inspired.  The idea of doing 20 acts of kindness, 1 for each child lost, is just brilliant.  Some have upped it to 26 acts to include the teachers and that's even better.  I've decided to do 20 acts by the end of this year.  It's now December 18th and I was already planning on donating books to the library, one down.

I'll be tweeting each one as I go, follow me @SueJacquette and let's all join in on this.  Here are some ideas to get you inspired....

Donate food to a pantry
Donate books to a library
Visit a lonely neighbor
Help a neighbor with lawnwork
Pay for the person behind you in line
Fill up the meters of the cars parked around you
Be a designated driver
Send someone flowers just to brighten their day
Donate blood
Donate old clothes
Give your seat to someone else on the bus or train
Share a positive blog post
Donate money to your favorite charity
Talk with a homeless person
Bring in you neighbor's trash cans
Make dinner for you local firehouse
Send a care package to a loved one

The ideas are endless, but it really changes the perspective of this tragedy.  Thanks, Ann Curry!