From a young age, my parents always tried to teach me to be thankful for what we had. They also taught me about giving back and sharing what you have with others. I’ve tried to teach my own children these same lessons about thankfulness. Children learn by example and when my children were small, I spent a lot of time volunteering at their school. Over the years we have also helped out at events, spent time wrapping Christmas gifts for children and many other activities that share our time and show our care.
Our small crafty women group has donated bins of handmade items to a local women’s center and we have plans to get a few bins of blankets made for the Soldier’s & Sailor’s home within the next year. My mom still helps me remember to show care to those around us. She enjoys helping my daughter share her time. They spent a day making a pretty quilt for the donation bins one day last summer.
Kids love making things for other kids. Sharing outgrown toys is another way to get them involved in the giving spirit.
While we are now headed into the season of sniffles, coughing, and all of those other not so fun cold weather woes, it is as important as ever to make sure we continue to show our thankfulness and care to those around us. We may be super grumpy from being up all night with a sick child, or so tired we can’t keep our eyes open because we’ve been coughing all day — but that doesn’t mean we have the right to be rude and selfish to our friends, family, or even strangers in the check out line.
If nothing else, share a smile with the harried lady behind the conveyor belt. It may brighten her day just enough that she shares one with the next person in line, and so on. We can also show those we care about how grateful we are to have them in our lives without going overboard. A simple hug and kind word will do the trick.
When our family is feeling worn out from a hectic schedule or week of battling the sniffles, I do what my mom always did and make them a nice pot of homemade soup — chicken and dumplings is a favorite. I feel so thankful to be able to warm their bodies with a home cooked meal. In the evening when they are still sniffling, handing them a Kleenex tissue and a mug of hot tea with honey soothes them enough to get some sleep.
Again, all of these ways to show gratitude and care can be done by just giving of your time. We try to make time because the bonus of that good feeling is worth a few hours out of our day!
Kleenex brand has one more way to share the Care this cold and flu season. By purchasing Kleenex Brand Tissues in specially marked packages, you can share a free Kleenex Brand Care Pack with someone who needs a little care.
3 simple steps to “Share the Care”
- Buy specially marked bundles or boxes of Kleenex® Brand tissue.
- Find the code on the package of Kleenex® Brand tissue.
- Go to Kleenex.com/softness, enter your code, and share the care!
- Check out http://www.facebook.com/Kleenex to learn more.
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What an awesome quilt! That’s so cool your family all works together like that to help others in need. Big thumbs up!
That quilt is GORGEOUS! We usually just donate our outgrown toys to the pediatrician’s office or I freecycle them, but I’ve had my kids volunteer as well, but we volunteer for the community by doing trash pick up rather than actually working with people. My kids are still young, so I figure it’s a good way to teach them about respecting our planet. I’ve volunteered at soup kitchen a few times and I want to do that with my kids, but I am going to wait till they get a little older.
oh my gosh! your daughter is quilting! i love that! I work in a quilting (and knitting) shop, and love love to admire quilts!(as I can’t quilt. boo)
You’re doing awesome Mama!