Random Acts of Kindness

So, first I'm sorry I've done a crappy job on keeping the blog up to date. My parents were here during my spring break, and this past week (after spring break) we had parent teacher conferences. I had some not so fun ones. In addition, the heat from Reading First has been turned onto 1st grade. We pretty much had to change everything we do this week. We had to re-create it, teach it, and have it look like perfection. This is a hard task to do in a 4 day week with 3 half days. Needless to say I've been a touch stressed out by my job. Which makes the random act kindness we received today...well uplifting and encouraging.



So, for those teacher friends of mine, you know how much money we spend out of pocket on our classrooms. Eric hates it when I buy stuff for school with our money since we're on such a tight budget. Especially when we did our taxes and added up my teacher expenses. He hadn't realized what I spent. Needless to say he wasn't amused. So for the most part I don't buy stuff for my job. I just make do.

Eric had customers today who bought a car (yea!) and of course they were doing a lot of talking. This couple does a lot for the community. He was a finalist for a superintendent job for a public school system in our area. Anyway, they loved Eric and thought it was cool that I was a teacher in one of our more impoverished areas. After they bought the car they gave Eric $100 and said it was a donation for my classroom because teachers do so much good and aren't appreciated enough. He called and told me and I was like WOW!

I was and am very moved by it. As Christians we often talk about being generous like Jesus and doing acts of kindness for others without something in return. I have done this before and been a giver. It feels so good to help others. However, I have never received generosity like this out of the blue from a stranger. It feels so good to experience random kindness like this. I have had somewhat of a hard heart lately Sometimes I see all the hurt and suffering going on in the lives of my students and all the legalistic crap at school that I get rather cynical in regards to humanity. Without knowing it, these strangers helped to melt some of my cynicism, which feels nice. Honestly, I really needed it. I feel ready for 9 more weeks of school. I was inadvertently rejuvenated. Its also encouraging to know how one act can effect another. It make me want to do more because I know how good it feels to receive. Anyway...that was a cool little blessing we received.

I will try to get some of our Spring Break pictures up soon.

-allison