year of kindness challenge: week 33

year of kindness button

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! Let’s have a marvelous start to the week! 🙂

Here is a terrific article that I came across this week about happiness: http://blog.bufferapp.com/10-scientifically-proven-ways-to-make-yourself-happier. I noticed that much of the advice has to do with being kind, being grateful, and feeling connected to others — all things that I have grown in my life over the course of doing this kindness challenge!

Last week’s kindness challenge was to plant something. I planted flowers in the long-dormant pots on the front porch as a surprise to my lovely Mama. She was so happy!

Since it’s back-to-school time {already! can you believe it??} this week’s kindness challenge is to donate school supplies to local children who need them. Many communities have school supply drives, or you could donate via organizations like the Boys & Girls Club. Better yet, host your own school supply drive and partner with a local school or classroom to make sure the supplies get to those who need them most!

As always, blog about your experiences and include your links in the comments section below, or feel free to send me an email at dallaswoodburn <AT> gmail <DOT> com.

Have a wonderful week!
Dallas

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year of kindness archives:
– week 1 challenge: donate items to those in need
– week 2 challenge: leave quarters & note at laundry machine
– week 3 challenge: write & send a kind handwritten note
– week 4 challenge: give hot chocolate to someone outside in the cold
– week 5 challenge: do something kind for a neighbor
– week 6 challenge: deliver valentines to a nursing home
– week 7 challenge: donate to a food pantry
– week 8 challenge: donate toiletries to a shelter
– week 9 challenge: post a kind note in a public place
– week 10 challenge: do something kind for a child
– week 11 challenge: thank someone in a genuine & meaningful way
– week 12 challenge: deliver baked goods to a fire station
– week 13 challenge: give someone flowers
– week 14 challenge: donate books
– week 15 challenge: reach out and spend time with people
– week 16 challenge: smile at everyone you meet
– week 17 challenge: pick up litter/trash
– week 18 challenge: write a kind note to a mom figure in your life
– week 19 challenge: leave an extra-generous tip
– week 20 challenge: donate blood/join bone marrow registry
– week 21 challenge: visit a cemetery and pay respect
– week 22 challenge: practice a little patience
– week 23 challenge: call 3 loved ones on the phone
– week 24 challenge: do something kind for a senior citizen
– week 25 challenge: pay for someone’s public transportation
– week 26 challenge: volunteer at a food pantry or soup kitchen
– week 27 challenge: send a care package to someone in the military
– week 28 challenge: give at least one compliment every day
– week 29 challenge: do a favor for someone else
– week 30 challenge: scatter lucky pennies around a playground
– week 31 challenge: mail an empowering postcard
week 32 challenge: plant something

mt. whitney thursday: training hikes

Hi everyone! This post is part of my series the Mt. Whitney chronicles, which is comprised of journal entries from when I climbed Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States, ten years ago. If you missed the earlier post in the series, you can read them here.

mt whitney chronicles

Sunday, May 18, 2003
I just got back from my first training hike! Mom says we are lucky to live in Southern California near the beach and foothill mountains because there are so many great hiking trails nearby. I guess she’s right, but right now I don’t even want to think about getting up at 6 a.m. next Sunday and doing the same thing all over again! Today we only hiked for two hours, and I’m in pretty good shape from running cross-country and track for my high school, but it seemed like for-ev-er. And, to be honest, there wasn’t even that much uphill! Climbing Mt. Whitney in one day is supposed to take at least fourteen hours — the first eight of which will be spent hiking up, up, up the mountain. Right now, that seems so impossible!

Saturday, May 31
Mom and I went to Patagonia today to look for hiking boots because she thinks we should break them in a little during our hike tomorrow morning. I found a pair that is pretty comfortable, and I got some hiking socks, too. We also each bought a walking stick, which hard-core hikers say are invaluable, especially when climbing mountains like Whitney. They provide leverage going up the trail and make the constant pounding of going downhill easier on your body by bearing some of the impact. Also, very importantly, they can help prevent you from slipping and falling on rocky and dangerous trails.

Still, a part of me thought the cashier might laugh at us when we went up to purchase the hiking sticks. I felt like an old lady buying a cane. But I shouldn’t have worried: the cashier smiled and asked if we’re preparing for a specific hike. When we told him we’re going to climb Whitney, his eyes grew wide and he looked impressed. “Wow, you’re serious hikers, then!” he said. “Good luck!”

Walking out of the store, my heart swelled with pride and excitement. Me, a serious hiker! Hopefully in a couple months I’ll be able to go back to that store and tell him we made it to the top.

Thursday, June 13
Now that we are “serious hikers” Mom has been going to all the local outdoors-y stores and talking to people about Mt. Whitney. She’s managed to come across a few other hikers who have made it to the top and is soaking up their advice like a sponge. She also found a book, How to Climb Mt. Whitney in One Day, that I’ve been reading. Maybe it’s just me, but the author makes climbing Mt. Whitney seem really scary! She says that for the last mile, every step will be a struggle, and you will feel dizzy and nauseous while hiking only a few steps away from hundred-foot cliff-drops. For someone like me who is so afraid of heights that even the Ferris Wheel makes my insides do cartwheels, maybe this isn’t such a great idea after all …

But then I think about Julianna’s photos from the top. I really want to be there. I really want to see that view for myself.