Days 5 & 6: Narcoleptic Neighbors and Train Rides All Around

I forgot to mention that on weekends, I sometimes won't blog. #walkofshame

I assure you, though, that I am still doing #AdamsActs each day, and am continually blown away by all the ideas people are coming up with!  It is particularly challenging to blog over the weekends because all the kids are home and it is  mass chaos  our treasured family time.

Our friends from Finland are still here visiting, so among our intentional acts of kindness, I will include hosting a foreign family of four and showing them the American way of life.  Staying with a family of seven probably isn't giving them an accurate picture of normal American life, not to mention the fact that I haven't done anything normal since 1988.  Still, we have opened our home to them and I do think that counts as a kindness even though it is much more a blessing to us than it could possibly be to them.

For Day 5, we wanted to give Minna and Osmo and their kids an idea of what life looks like in a large Italian family, and we wanted to spread the love to our neighbor who recently had back surgery.  So, we went to my in-laws where Tom and my father-in-law taught the kids how to make fresh, homemade pasta, and we then delivered some to my neighbor.  The kids  ate so much raw flour  were so helpful and really interested in learning the art of cooking authentic Italian cuisine.

The delivery of the pasta was a little anti-climactic because my neighbor played dead when I knocked on the door.  No, I don't mean he just ignored the doorbell... I mean I saw him through the window as I walked up, and when I knocked, he fell asleep.  Over the years we have had such a range of reactions from our acts of kindness.... some people get irate, like we are trying to take something from them, rather than give.  Some people feel guilty and want to reciprocate instantly, and many people simply refuse the kindness.  I have never had anyone just fake sleep through my attempt to be kind however.  It was a refreshing change.

The next day, he did bring over some fresh produce and thanked us though, so fortunately we know he was playing dead, and wasn't, like, actual dead.   

For Day 6, we took the Finns to the Strong Museum of Play, and I treated several kids to free train rides.  This was underwhelming, but received, which was an improvement from the year that parents refused to accept the carousel rides my kids were offering to pay for with their own, hard-earned, precious baby money!  So, all in all Day 5 & 6 was pretty smooth!

I will blog again tonight with today's #AdamsActs, and promise that I will not fall off the wagon for more than a day or so over the weekends.  In the meantime, I thank you all so much for the things you have been doing to serve and love others.  One week ago, the hashtag #AdamsActs didn't even exist.  Now, it is trending.  Just kidding, I don't even know what trending means.  But, now the hashtag does exist, and if you click on it... it is unbelievable to see how many posts and pictures there are.  

It is a good reminder of how God has already equipped us to do His work... we don't need to "be" better or "arrive" to some place in life in order to be used by Him.  We just have to start where we are and do something.  It can be so small, but with the right heart behind it, it can have huge implications.  So keep up the kind work!