Do you know who your neighbours are? We are fortunate to live in Regional South Australia in a town with a population of about 8,500. I know our neighbours names and I know they have three (3) children, a girl and twin boys and a Staffy dog called Jack – who sometimes wanders into our yard and is kind enough to leave a little surprise on our front lawn. I also know that she is 29 and has cervical cancer and has just recently had an operation to have a full hysterectomy.

This is so sad and she is only a few years older than me. I don’t know her well enough to know all the details; but today I thought I’d let her know I’m only over the fence if she needs anything.

I made a batch of muffins and a banana cake and took them over to her. When she opened the door, she could not believe her eyes, she hugged me and said thank you so much. She then invited me in and as we walked in she said to her husband ‘see there are still some good people in the world’. I know I felt just as good as she did!

Don’t be afraid to let people know that you care; especially those that aren’t in your closest circle of friends / family. You’ll be surprised how this makes you feel and you will also brighten someone else’s day.

Have a great day!

Cheers Katie

A few months ago, in the Winter, Katie and I were walking down Jetty Road in Glenelg, SA on a Saturday morning after having a great breakfast at our favourite café feeling pretty good about the fact that we were in a position to do just about anything we wanted where and when we feel like it.

In the distance ahead of us was a homeless man sitting on a bench smoking a second hand cigarette and wrapped in an old blanket trying to keep the cold out. He wasn’t begging or asking anyone for anything, just minding his own business. We noticed a lot of people stepping out of their brand new cars, walking out of shops with bags full of goods they could obviously afford and walking past this man consciously ignoring him or not making eye contact with him for fear he would ask them for something.

Without any discussion between Katie and me, it seems we were both observing the same situation. As we got closer Katie reached into her purse, pulled out a $20 note, looked at me and said “Here, give this to him”. A warm feeling of compassion came over me as I took the money from her and gave it to him.

He looked up at us and said “Thank you, I’ll get something warm with this”, he smiled and stuffed it in the inside pocket of this jacket.

When I looked into his eyes it was clear that it had been a very long time since anyone had done something for him without obligation or making him feel that he was insignificant.

The moral to this story is that through such a simple act of kindness and the amazing feeling that doing something that had zero impact on our lives, yet had a MASSIVE impact on his life, not only further strengthened our relationship, but made the rest of that day one of the most memorable of our lives. The best part is I have never missed that $20 note.

As the festive season (or silly) season approaches and we wonder if our bellies will handle all the food we have bought and what presents to buy those we love. This year I thought ‘…and what about those we don’t know’.

They have been running a campaign on our local television station wanting the donations of cash, new toys and non-perishable items for those in need this Christmas. It just breaks my heart to think there would be children out there that would wake up Christmas morning with no gifts.

So armed with cash, Tim and I headed to our local Toyworld. We spent a couple of hours down there, selecting gifts that ranged from $10 to $20. We bought toys for girls and boys of different age groups and also some games the families could play together.

We had fun choosing the gifts and a couple of times I caught Tim playing with the toys instead of picking them.

When we went to the counter to pay – Jim who owns the store said ‘so you’ve done all your Christmas shopping now?’ we said ‘No, all of this is for the Riverland Christmas Appeal, none of it’s for us’. He just couldn’t believe it; he said he’d never seen anyone do that before. Then he walked over to the shelf and grabbed another toy and said ‘Give this one to them for me’. Our giving had inspired him to give.

We bought the gifts home and removed all the tags.

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We then wrote them a cheque so we could give a donation too. Then we delivered it.

It was such an amazing feeling and to know that we will have made someone’s Christmas Day brighter because of a simple act of kindness.

Have a great day!

Cheers Katie