February Kindnesses... I know... its about time! :)

So last month I finally got around to doing the Kindnesses for January! And in the new format they are much easier to post! And I will shortly write up the ones for February...

The terrible thing is that after loosing one lot of kindness due to technology, I had believed I had fixed the problem. However... technology seems to thwart me at every turn, and i lost a lot more of my kindnesses, so I have had to AGAIN got back through the books/diaries/photos/text messages/personal messages/Facebook to try and figure out exactly what I have been doing. Needless to say, I have given up on the technological recording of kindnesses and have gone back to simply writing them down in my diary!

Please note, that my "cop out" clause for not finding any evidence that I had done a kindness on a particular day was to write that "I made mum a cup of tea". I do this almost everyday anyways, and she doesn't usually wake up unless she has had one. So I find it a kindness... maybe I should be writing "Woke mum up nicely" as well... but I know that I have done a kind deed everyday, even if i cant recall EXACTLY what it was, we all know... at least mum got a nice wake up and warm tea in her belly! :)

Anyways, here is the kindnesses for February:

FEBRUARY 2012:

February 1st: I passed on a letter and read it aloud to my dad who had received it from a friend who had just been to India! 

February 2nd: I helped an elderly neighbor carry several bags of craft supplies upstairs to her house. I also helped a friend photograph about 20 of her quilts for the charities she supports. 

Can you see those fingertips and ankles... yeah... that's ME!!! :)

...and again... sexy ankles! lol! :)

February 3rd: I helped look after my Niece and Nephew  whilst their parents were at a dinner party. 

February 4th:I made a dip for my mother to take to a gathering of her friends. Whilst she was out I cleaned the whole house, Including changing all of the sheets, Vacuuming, doing the laundry, doing the washing up, and sorting out problem areas of the house so when she returned the house was clean and uncluttered - A wonderful surprise.

February 5th: I took on the role of chef for the afternoon/evening and cooked lunch and dinner for both mum and I when she was having a very hard day.

February 6th: I encouraged my mum and helped her walk to my dads nursing home and back. I also supported by sisters business. 

February 7th: I met up with my cousin who was in town, over from Melbourne (other side of the country), shared breakfast together before she had to return back for work, we also sent a card back with her for another family member.

February 8th: Visited my dad in his nursing home, only to discover one of his fellow housemates had passed away. Mum and I supported the family, whom we had gotten to know, and sent love to those who werent at the home then.

Mum and I also dropped flowers off to a friend who was having a particularly rough time of it. And  also helped my sister by baby sitting for a few hours. 

February 9th: I made a chocolate cake for a friends birthday.

February 10th: cooked dinner with my neice and nephew, and supported my mum after a particularly hard day. 

February 11th: Dropped off a birthday cake to a friends house, and helped clean up after an Engagement Party.

February 12th: Drove mum to church, and then took her to visit a friend afterwards. I also offered to do the washing up at a friends house after we had had dinner there.

February 13th (RAK WEEK): The start of RAK week went well with mum and I inviting the neighbors to come in and have a coffee and a chat and share some afternoon tea with us.

 

February 14th (RAK WEEK & Valentines Day): I sent messages to my close single friends to wish them a Happy Valentines Day (so they had a valentine). I also took myself to Kingspark Botanic Gardens, for some Kindness to myself. I had a Soy Chai Latte, and a big blueberry muffin and celebrated life as a single woman in the beauty of the park. I also contentedly watched all those couples who were together on Valentines walking through the part together, and was grateful that one day I will also be able to share Valentines day with the person I love. 

February 15th (RAK WEEK): represented my dad at his friends funeral (sadly dad wasn't well enough to go to the funeral). 

We also took dinner to my sisters house for her birthday. I also had my niece and nephew help me set it all up to make it "pretty" for her birthday.

February 16th (RAK WEEK): I helped my mum walk down to my dads house, and made the effort to smile at 5 strangers.

February 17th (RAK WEEK): I bought a wedding planner for a recently engaged friend.

February 18th (RAK WEEK): made the effort to talk to at least 5 strangers that I met throughout my day. I also organized a cake for my Nieces birthday party.

February 19th (RAK WEEK & My nieces 4th birthday party): I took responsibility of looking after dad, taking him to the toilet, keeping him well hydrated and keeping him out of the way of screaming/enthusiastic 4 year old girls. I also protected the cake until it was time for the cake to be cut.

February 20th: I got up early to drive mum to a doctors appointment. I also bought her lunch. 

February 21st: Took mum to a doctors appointment and then walked across to the hospital. She was admitted into hospital for surgery on her spine. I stayed with her until after closing hours. And I also held the elevator doors open for someone I didn't know.

February 22nd: Whilst mum was in surgery, they moved wards, as a bed became free. So i moved all her stuff to the new ward sot he hospital staff didn't have to do it. Also kept everyone informed about mums surgery, particularly friends and family.

February 23rd: Smiled at a sad looking stranger, who smiled back. I also continued to look after mums needs at the hospital and kept everyone informed. 

February 24th: Changed the sheets at home on both the beds, and did the washing, ready to bring mum home after her stay in hospital. 

February 25: Waited at the hospital for several hours until the doctor came and told mum she could go home. I took responsibility for her after surgery care by learning how to do the neck massage therapy and mums medications roster. 

I also made cups of tea for those who supported us by bringing dinner and care packages. THANK YOU so much to those that did this for us. You were life savers! :)

February 26th: Continued to take responsibility from mums massage therapy and medications. I also acted as mums secretary and made phone calls and informed people/doctors of progress.

February 27th: Looked after mum, who was still fairly bed ridden, and sorted out medications and changed her neck dressings. (Nurse Daena to the rescue! lol).

February 28th: Mum had her first outing and I made sure she didn't overdo it too much, and took her home as soon as she was very tired.

February 29th (Leap year day): I took mum out for a leisurely lunch (she was going stir crazy at home) and then we did some very brief food shopping before I took her home, as she was exhausted.

Well folks that was my February. Like I have said in previous posts, about mums hospital visit, I really take my hat off to the doctors, nurses and people who care. It is not an easy job to do, but it makes the world of difference to people like my mum and those who are suffering. Thank you!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this, as it is just a tiny incite into my life.

Much Love,
Daena

A little bit about me...

Hi everyone,
Well i have been writing this blog now for over a year and have realized that unless you know me personally, you probably know very little about me. Apart from the fact I'm a lunatic who is starting her second year of kind acts!

I am a woman (i'm pretty sure you would have gathered that by the photo at least!), and i am 26 years old! I have just completed my Master of Arts in Archaeology degree and and working occasionally for one of the Western Australian Universities.

I have a wonderful family. I have two parents (still married) and i have a special older sister (and by special i mean awesome!). Both my parents have disabilities, however both are not related to birth defects of anything and are things that they have aquired later in life!

My mum has spinal injuries which cause her to be quite ill a lot of the time (so i do a lot of kindnesses for her!). I live with her and act as her "carer". She is an amazing woman who has taught me so much! She has always encouraged me to live my dreams and challenges me to challenge myself. She is also the woman that everyone loves and asks for advice or help. And even with her disability she doesn't let that stop her and she does the best she can for everyone she possibly can! I am inspired by her and what she puts up with and what she achieves as a result. I kind of find it funny when she tells me she feels like she isn't making a difference in the world! You just have to look at the people shes supported and she makes all the difference in the world!! She will often also do random acts of kindness with me, or as well as me!  I love my mum so very much! Thanks Mrs Guest! :)

My dad is in a high care facility with a rare and debilitating brain disease called CerebralAmyloidAngiopathy (yes that is a mouthful to say!). For those interested in reading about it you can check out this link:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001735/
This disease causes my father to have mini strokes and have FrontoTemporalDementia (yes i like my big words!).However, this disease was only diagnosed in the last 5 years.
My father is/was an extraordinary man! He used to do so much for me and my sister that he was always considered our "House-Dad". He, coming from the country where he grew up in a country town, used to treat everyone as friends. He would bring home strange and interesting people he had met in his adventures, he would talk to people all over the world on the computer (my dad was one of the first people to have internet access in his area). He made/makes friends easily. He used to do what we call "bread runs". which basically means that he would collect the day old bread from local bakery's (that they couldnt sell that day) and take them to families in need and to halfway houses and shelters. He did this everyday for about 6 years, then he cut down a little as more people offered to help. Our little old car used to smell like bread as a result! My father supported Indigenous churches and he would sit and have a chat with the "bum" in the city, usually buying a cup of coffee to share with them. He has always challenged me to treat everyone equally and to share what little we had with everyone. He is part of the reason that i started doing this project!
My dad is still a great man, even though the disease has affected him alot, sadly. I still love him and visit him regularly... so often you will see little notes about visiting the nursing home. Or me talking to people there! I have discovered that even a kind word or gesture can be enough to make one of those other patients smile, as they rarely get visitors! I have come to love some of dads fellow "inmates" (as he calls them) and love to chat to them or give them "lifts" in their wheel chairs to the dining room for dinner. Thanks Dad for the love and support even from the comfort of your bed! :)

So enough about my parents... they are awesome! What more could you possibly want to know!? lol. Apart from the fact that they gave birth to me! :) hahaha!

Well, I have an older sister! V is about 3 inches shorter than me so i call her my "little sister" even though she's almost 6 years older than me. She is married to G who is a wonderful guy and en excellent brother-in-law! Both of them have supported me through so much in my life. Including letting me live with them when I was 17 for a few months, when dad first got sick. My darling sister V helps me run the Project 25 Page on Facebook! And i am grateful for all the things she has found that encourage me to keep going! Thanks guys! I am very grateful for everything!

V& G have two lovely kids, a boy AJ (whos 7 and three quarters) and a girl AV (who is almost 4 but thinks she 30... oh and she thinks shes the queen!). Both kids crack me up and are beautiful kids! AJ sat me down the other day to share all the Kind deeds he had done so i could write them in my book! And AV is such a funny little munchkin but when the time for hard work is come she's right in there with the rest of them. I love them dearly and they seem to think I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread, which is nice for the ego! lol!

That is my immediate family! But i have some awesome "aunties" who with their families treat me and mine like we are blood! These people are so treasured that without them i would probably not have done half the stuff i have done or wanted to do!

One encourages me verbally supporting me & my mum emotionally! She has also found every article written about Kindness for me! You are a champion! She has done a million kindnesses for us all that she may never know and she sends the ones she intentionally does to me for Project 25 so that i can be inspired too! :) She has supported me financially, emotionally and even physically. She does RAKs and kindnesses for those around her! And the love with which she gives them is profound!

One of my other "aunties" is so awesome she let me live in her house for a few years whilst she lived in a country town. She has supported me financially and practically over the years. She is one of the most practical people i know! She also leads by example. She is the one who in previous notes i have written about as she just makes quilts! And by "makes quilts" i mean she made almost 100 of them last year alone for the neonatal clinic at one of the hospitals. The quilting group she belongs to makes them for the postnatal deperession unit, as each new mum gets to take a quilt home with them. Apparently they are not in as much demand now, as they have a large stockpile! :) But she keeps making quilts, as its something she loves to do and that she can freely give to someone. i find it funny that she also doesn't consider what she does as Kindnesses or RAKs. She does it as its fun for her and it can practically help someone out!

There are so many people who help inspire me with what they do and who they are for me. I am so very greatful!

I wanted to share this because even though i have been writing about what i'm doing, I haven't been writing about who I am! and I am my family! They love me, cherish me and encourage me to do stuff that no ordinary person would do!

Like my mum dared me to shave my initials into the back of my hair when i was 12 and i did it! Well... maybe not all the things i have done have been such a brilliant idea! lol! But i will do things for a laugh or to prove those who say i cant do it that i can! I'm pretty stubborn. But I'm also passionate, creative and encouraging. I know that not all of my qualities are what everyone fit with but i try to follow my fathers example and treat everyone equally. Regardless of the skin color, sex, creed, religion, race, age or sexual orientation, i try to encourage and love those that i meet to the best of my ability.
I don't always succeed but like 365days of kindness... i take one day at a time and do the best I can!

Well now that i have written an essay about my life and family (even those NOT blood related) i hope you might understand what i do and why i do it a little more.
Thank you for reading this, and if you know me a special thanks for the support!
Cheers,
Daena Guest