Guest Blog by Lindsay Westle
Everyone’s life was turned upside down by COVID-19.
Not just mine, my families, my cities or country but the entire world.
We took the time to be scared, worried, sad, anxious; then we decided that wouldn’t work. Not for me and not for my kids. Doing crafts, games, puzzles and movies can only make a person so happy. With the news being informative but not positive we needed to create our own positivity.
It’s the little things that make big things that make a person feel good.
It is the wave or a smile to a stranger or taking a minute from your day to make someone’s week. That was the day I made a deal with the kids, every week we will do something small that means something big to someone else.
They had a few ideas of their own and a few with a little guidance. My daughter gave a little girl who was sad to be missing the run wild marathon her shirt and medal from last year. That little girl smiled and made my daughter feel like she had done something good.
So, it continued…
We drew on the senior’s driveway beside us on chalk walk day and took them Easter presents. We drove to Grande Prairie and back in the same day with no contact just to wave to grandparents and pick up our bicycles. We brought back an extra bike for a cousin who had lost her job prior to covid-19 and just wanted something to do that was free and fun.
We sponsored a single momma, started saying prayers for other people before ourselves, gave unneeded toys to strangers and chat to everyone who walks by on our street. My son dresses up in costumes daily, it creates smiles all over the block and even on my Instagram page. Just by living his best life he creates this happiness for other people.
We FaceTime my grandma in a senior’s home and sent her hand sanitizer and paintings just so she got mail on Fridays. Last week we did a drive-by birthday for a 9-year-old boy and that was as much fun for us as it was for him.
We have realized maybe the little things we are doing now should have been things we did all along.
We don’t need to always be doing something, life is busy. Sometimes we just need to take a step back and think what can I do for someone else today. Those are the real things that make you happy. Helping others can be small and big but some people don’t realize how much that will change your mood. The little things you do may mean the world to someone else so always do them. Just because you think someone doesn’t notice does not mean it goes unnoticed.
We do things to make ourselves feel good about being a contributing individual in our community and sometimes you get a thank you from a kid or an older person and that means as much to us as whatever we had done for them.
In a world where the future is unpredictable and scary, we can all do a small part to make it a little less scary and people can always count on each other for at the very least a smile. We don’t need to hug someone to make them smile but we do need to be kind.
xoxo
Lindsay
Lindsay Westle lives in St. Albert with her husband and three beautiful children. Lindsay can always be found brightening someone’s day!
