Thursday, March 8, 2007

Let's pay it forward...

I don't know about all of you but after the blizzard on Valentines Day I am soooo done with winter. I won't even allow my husband to discuss the 4 letter word that begins with S and ends in OW. To quote the honorable judge Marilyn Milian from the People's Court (giggle :) I do find some humor in it after a hard days work.. Who in their right mind goes on TV to air their dirty laundry.. Whoops.. getting side traced)..
"DONE, DONE DONE, DONE, DONE.. STICK A FORK IN ME I'M DONE".
Then with the temperatures being close to -40 this week with the windchill, I'm really over it. Spring is in exactly 13 days, but whose counting.. I AM !!!

I really should be more grateful, overall we did have a mild winter (our first real snowstorm was that blizzard on Valentines Day) but those few days knocked the wind out of my sail.. Let's see, while plowing the driveway the first time my husband hit the house, the motor on the plow had a short in it which blew the alternator in the truck, when the alternator blew it killed the battery (so he took the brand new never been used battery from my car that we had just purchased the evening before the storm), the plow motor needed to be replaced and we still weren't even plowed out yet. Then the next morning after driving me to work (my car was still in the garage with no battery in it) he drove to his parents to plow them. Yep, as you would have guessed it, with all of the snow drifts completely missed the driveway and nose-dived into the ditch needing to be winched out by a tow truck. Oh, it only gets better. When he was coming to pick me up (after I asked him to come in the big black truck) what does he do.. he drives my car which just happens to be white and parks it up against the big WHITE snowbank.. And oh yeahhhhhh smash, a co-worker backed into my bumper with her pretty little red car. So now you can understand why I'm so over winter this year..

Now don't get me wrong, I really H-A-T-E feeling this way.. So what can I do to make myself and others feel better? Have any of you heard of the pay it forward movement? In a nutshell it's doing something good for someone with out expecting anything from it in return except that they too 'pay it forward' and do something good for someone else. Basically it's a 'good deed'. Please feel free to check out their website for inspirational 'paying it forward' stories.

Allow me to share a small part of 1 story with you now to get us all in the spirit..

"In 98' I found out our furnace was bad. It needed to be replaced. I had already lost my home to a fire in March of 97'. We had just purchased a new home. We had no money for a new furnace. No one would help. No churches no one. One day a man showed up at my door. I have never seen him b4 or after. He gave me a check for the amount of money I need to get the natural gas brought into my home $200.00. All he said was someday I do something for someone else. I met this woman online. We had been chatting for months. She came into hard times. Needed money for her boys for x-mas. I sent her $150.00 (all that I could afford). I just told her someday to do something for someone else. Then this past year a close friend of mine was down on her luck. And needed money to get heat in her home. I went to the fuel place and paid for her to get $100.00 worth of propane. I told her the same thing. Just do something for someone else. So I guess I have one more to go. And I hope I don't stop there. I think it is a great idea. And I hope everyone does it for at least one person.
Thanks, Lisa Hunter, Michigan "


So here's my thought.. In no way am I asking anyone to got out on your nearest street corner and hand $100 bills to people (well, that is unless you want to). But what I am asking is that if each and every one of you who reads this do something no matter how big or how small to pay it forward. It doesn't just need to be you, please get anyone you know to join in, your hubby, parents, children, friends, stamping members anyone you can think of.

Are you ready for the contest ??? I realize the 'principle' behind paying it forward is not to reward people for their good deeds. But this is my personal way of getting the ball rolling.
For the next month (we'll keep the contest going until Easter Sunday April 8th but I hope we all continue to pay it forward afterwards).. each and every time you pay it forward please share your individual story here with us in the comments (please post your comments to this post).
At the end of the month my stampers group will pick 1 individual story and that person will win a fabulous prize. I can't tell you what it is yet, you'll just have to keep coming back to share your stories with us to find out.

My hope is that as spring begins to bloom so too will all of our hearts.

9 comments:

dawnmercedes said...

I had a pay it forward contest for blog candy on my blog a couple of weeks ago. It was great to hear about other people taking care of those around them...family, friends or strangers.

I certainly will be on the look out for opportunities to share with your stamping group!

Anonymous said...

This is fabuous!

Thank you for coming to my blog and commenting - you can count me in for the "contest" and I'll post a link to the post on my blog.

Now, I have to start paying attention and listening so that I can come up with a great "Pay It Forward" deed.....

dawnmercedes said...

Can a compliment be a "PIF?"

Tonight, I took my 6 year old DD to Wendy's for a late night snack, just her and me. She saw a teenage couple come in, and the boy switched places with the girl...just b/c she wanted the bench and not the chair.

When DD mentioned it to me, I explained that the guy was being a gentlemen. And that opened up a discussion of what she should look for in someone she dated.

So, when we left, I went to his table and thanked him for setting a good example. (He was sitting so close I know he overheard me telling her about what it means to be a gentelman.)

Don't worry, this is just a small, small Pay It Forward...

Heidi said...

I just wanted to say that this is an awesome idea for a contest!! I am so blessed from the people around me that i try to pay it forward as often as I can. My most recent being sending my 13 year old niece a big box of paper, stamped images, hardware, letter stamps, and flowers. I love being able to pass on things that I can't or don't use anymore that I know others would thoroughly enjoy! And plus, unexpected mail gives you one of the best feelings ever!

dawnmercedes said...

Here's my latest pay it forward...

I have been baby sitting for a neighbor down the street who has a not quite 2 year old. She has been going to her church to set up their books and needs someone to watch her DD. I can tell she is hesitant to ask me time and time again. But I remember when I was the mother with young children and needed someone to ask to watch them once in a while. It was hard to figure out who could or would baby sit. And I always felt like there would be one or 2 who seemed to watch my kids but never needed me to watch their kids. (Is this making sense?) So I agree to watch my neighbor's DD and I remember all those who helped me out in the past!

dawnmercedes said...

Hmmmmmm....this contest isn't taking off, is it?

Today I made a gift set for my 3 year old neighbor who is going in for surgery on Friday. You can see/read it here:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=508292


To sum it up, the gift set is fairy themed...There is a fairy card, fairy note book to draw her dreams which in turn might come true, a flower pen "made" by a read fairy, fairy slippers to help her feel better, a bell with fairy magic...that she can ring when she needs help or is lonely. (She will be in bed for a week.) But the note admonished her not to use the bell too often or it would stop working! (I didn't want my neighbor to go crazy with bell rining!) That's my lateset.

Allison Rankin said...

Well mine is pretty simple...of course, for this friend, my pay it forwards are a regular occurence (she is a little scattered)! Anyway, at just after 4 pm, she called to say she locked herself out of her car with it running?!? So, since I was one of those people entrusted with a key, I packed the two kids in the car (during the scariest part of the day), went to her house and retrieved her extra set and brought them to the local A&W. I bribed my kids into some quasi-good behavior with french fries since it was dinner time by then!

Plus, I took my niece up to the local college this past Monday after she failed to send her check certifying her spot at the school. I figured if I went up there, I could explain the situation and smooth things over. They were super nice and let her in (thank gawd) and then spent the next hour helping her with registration, student aid and course selection. So, my pay it forward was not vital to the situation since they were so gracious about it but my niece (who is a little naive) appreciated my support (and her uncle's who had to come home early to watch our kids!).

I saw a scene of a nice little pay it forward too...my son's preschool is in a rec center. There is a homeless man who regularly comes through and sits at the snack bar. He is very polite and deferential to all and the woman who works there always makes him some toast, coffee or fries when he pops by (and she always makes them fresh as if he were any other customer)...I was happy to see this in a town that is booming and where homeless people are regularly viewed as a nuisance.

dawnmercedes said...

Hey, Just wanted you to know I'm paying it forward with the blog candy that I won from your blog:

http://dawnmercedes.blogspot.com/2007/03/how-lost-makes-me-think.html

I hope that it sends more traffic your way!

Cheryl KVD said...

Hello. I am paying it forward through the scrapbooking swaps that I participate in. If the swap calls for say, 12 brads then I put in 24. If I'm to make one tag, I'll make everyone 2. Or if it's a winter theme, I'll throw in some extra winter stuff that I think everyone will enjoy. I admit that I'm a very frugal person so it was hard at first but now it's part of my routine. And it's fun now! Thanks!
Cheryl KVD