“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey

November has been a month filled with so many opportunities to be thankful, kind and positive. Events like Read for the Record and United Acts of Kindness week along with campaign outings and United We Dine events made for a great month.

One of my favorite moments was when I read to the preschool class at St. Mary’s preschool in Tracy on Read for the Record day. I asked them to tell me how they can show kindness to others like Omu showed to her friends, neighbors and even folks she didn’t know, in the story, “Thank you Omu!” They had a great ideas and I could tell some really thought about it before they raised their hands. If you know one of these little preschoolers, you are lucky because they are a kind group! Their ideas included helping their mom with the dishes, holding the door for their teacher or giving their friend a hug.

A few examples of my kind acts included: holding the door for someone carrying a box, snacks for my kids’ teachers, treat’s for my co-workers and personally delivering flowers to our UWSWMN board chair. While I strive to be kind year round, United Acts of Kindness week for me is not so much about the kind acts that I do but the perspective it gives me to carry forward.

This special week is a great reminder of the ripple effect of kindness; to volunteer, to give, to offer, to listen. Whatever your act of kindness was or is in the future, it matters and someone was or will be thankful you took the time to be kind!

Let us all be thankful for the opportunity to add a little kindness into the world and remember what a gift that truly is.