This past week I have been drafting a few blog posts in my head related to making New Year’s Resolutions (and/or setting intentions) and participating in the 26 Acts of Kindness movement. Then today at Costco I saw a mother interacting with her child and my thoughts shifted… a lot!

My hubby had the day off today which meant I had the opportunity to run a few errands by myself…such a luxury! I made a quick stop at Costco. On the way out I walked past the Dune Buggy that is always sitting in front of the store. The same one my kids are always asking me if they can play on. The same one that typically makes me say “get off that and walk with me please” to my kids. Today as I walked past the infamous Dune Buggy a mom was sitting in it with her son who looked about 3 years old. She was pretending they were in a jungle and a tiger was chasing them. She was enthusiastically telling her son “quick, drive faster…he’s getting closer!”.  I stopped right by them pretending to focus on tucking my receipt into my bag, but really I was watching their interaction.

I thought to myself, “my boys would love if I did that with them”. That’s when I realized that I used to be a fun mom. I used to play and engage with them like that. I used to be silly and creative. I used to take time to explore their curiosities with them. Now I tend to rush them along and lack patience for their pokiness. What happened?

Am I experiencing *gulp* “mommy burnout“? Is it just an inevitable part of mothering? Honestly, I don’t know. What I do know is I felt inspired by watching this mommy engage with her son. In fact I wanted to go home, grab my kids, and bring them back to Costco to play “tiger chase” with them in the Dune Buggy. I wanted to laugh with them and love on them. And that’s when it hit me: My 26 random acts of kindness need to be directed towards my children right now! The heart of the movement is to spread compassion and I feel as though right now my own children need a more compassionate mama (because to be honest for the past several months they have had a crabby, tired, and impatient mama).

I am excited to think about the 26 random acts of kindness I will bestow upon my children! And to think all I needed to get out of that funk was to watch a game of “tiger chase” and hear a child laugh joyfully! An unknown and even unintentional random act of kindness was gifted to me today by that mama at Costco…so wherever she is on this chilly night in the desert under the beautiful full moon, I thank her! 🙂

What has inspired you recently in your own mothering journey? Would love to hear from you!  

-Sarah