Kids mitzvahs this weekend

538&539) Two parents this weekend let me know that my kids were mitzvah kids and it really made me proud. I wanted to recognize them and told them I would put it on the blog. My son helped clean up the kids play room at synagogue and one of his friend’s dads came over to tell me. My daughter had been on a playdate the same afternoon and went to the store with the mom and was “very helpful” to the mom in purchasing some items she needed. I appreciated the positive feedback.

540) My son picked up some trash over the weekend and wanted to throw it away to make the parking lot look nicer.

I love being able to praise my kids when they do good deeds for each other or other people. It’s easy to get caught up in the nagging and not praise the good behavior, but I have found with this mitzvah project I am catching the good actions alot more and sharing the praise too. I was definitely smiling after having other parent’s shared with me about my kids doing the right thing!

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The Litter Guy

347) My son, daughter and I went for a walk today to pick blackberries in a neighborhood park. My son saw a piece of garbage and picked it up. He said he wanted to make America beautiful. The rest of the way he continued to pick up litter and I joined it too. I was really proud of him for deciding to help keep the path to our park enjoyable and clean for others.

Weekend Mitzvahs

255) Picked up some trash from the playground and threw it away.

256) Sent a card to a colleague whose mother had recently passed away.

257) Donated some inspirational books to the Professional Women’s group at Dress for Success. After attending their meeting last week, I thought starting a library for the women to borrow from with inspirational books could be really useful.

258) Asked an old friend for forgiveness for how I acted years ago, she accepted.

259) Left a donation at a church that allowed us to use their facilities during a local parade.

Good bye Porter…

Dad snuggling with Porter

Yesterday, Porter, our sweet Cavalier King Charles, died. We have had him since he was 8 weeks old and got him prior to both of my children being born. It comes not as a complete surprise since this breed does suffer from heart ailments and he has been watched by a cardiologist for over a year now. However, it doesn’t make it easier to loose such a sweet and lovable part of our family. My house feels very empty without his little face around. Almost immediately after Porter died I kept thinking what can I do to turn this sadness into a mitzvah.

181) The only thing I have come up with so far is to send a note to the breeder (now a friend).  I shared with her how much she has helped us over the past decade as we raised our first dog. She is an amazing, caring and compassionate person and I wrote her a thank you note to tell her that. Any other mitzvahs anyone has done when a pet has died?

Also, I am so grateful to all of the friends and family from near and far who have called to extend their thoughts about our loss. People may not realize how welcome a phone call can be at such a time, but it is truly a mitzvah.

182) Donated to the Street Roots vendor outside of a book store today.

183) Picked up some litter outside of a community center where the kids were taking a class.