The weather has altered some of my plans of leaving little surprises outside for people, forcing me to be a little more creative. Sunday afternoon, as it began to get dark, Clover and I set out on a stealthy mission. Our first stop was a public school where we wrote some inspirational messages and drawings in chalk on the sidewalk near where the school buses let out. The surprise for me was how excited Clover was to take part in this. She drew happy faces that looked like faces, unlike the face she drew on a birthday card that made my sister ask if "those" were boobs. The things in question were eyes that were particularly large with a tiny pupil, making them look kind of boob-ish. Okay, they looked very boob-ish, but thankfully her chalk drawings all looked like human faces.
As we drove away from the school, it started to sprinkle a little, causing us to worry, but I drove by the school today and the chalk drawings were still there.
Next we drove to a local library branch where I'd planned to leave a Starbucks card outside on top of the book return box. Our main library building is closed this month for renovations, forcing a large number of people into the branches. When I was at the branch last week, each of the computer stations were filled with adults who all appeared to be looking for work, making the branch busier than I'd ever seen it. Unfortunately the book return was not beneath an overhang, as I'd remembered, and I didn't want to leave the card in the rain, so I dropped it in the book return slot, and hopefully it made the day of a librarian this morning. Clover drew a happy face - again, without boobs - on the sidewalk in front of the library.
Our last stop was a community center. The center was closed, but there were a lot of families around back near the soccer fields. I placed a Starbucks card on a bench in front of the building, somewhat shielded from any rain, while Clover did her thing with the chalk.
Day one: success!
You can follow the progress of - or participate in - Yahoo's You In program here and on Flickr. To help spread kindness, at the end of the week, I'll select two commenters to each receive a $5 Starbucks gift card. Just leave a comment with a way to contact you.
This was a nice read to start my day with!
(No need to enter me in the giveaway; just wanted to let you know I enjoyed this post. What a fun project!)
Posted by: kim/hormone-colored days | December 15, 2009 at 06:28 AM
I love this ... I'm in!
Posted by: Kathryn | December 15, 2009 at 10:49 AM
ok how much do i LOVE this! what a great way to spread the meaning of the season.
Posted by: justice fergie | December 15, 2009 at 06:14 PM
You have inspired me! I picked up an extra $5 GC yesterday and plan to leave it somewhere next week with a little note.
Posted by: Kathryn | December 17, 2009 at 04:44 AM