Item #5: Do Something Nice For Someone

This particular item was intentionally vague. I could not forsee the particular circumstances of checking this item off. It could not be nice by my standards, because they are simply too low. If I did something nice for someone, it would have to be acknowledged by the individual that I did it for.

I left work early today because I was feeling a little sick. I figured the best way to get better is to start working out. I decided to work out for an additional reason. On my list, I have "Run 1/2 Marathon" and "Run Marathon". Running 13 miles is not something one just jumps into. You need to be in a shape that is better than bad. Today was day in one in that long treck.

Just down the street from my house, there is a wash that doubles as a park, of sorts. It has a winding sidewalk that goes up and down, and goes along the wash for 3 miles. I simply walked to the end of the walkway and came back. I was wearing shorts, with jeans over them, and my old army boots. I had on a tank top, two long sleeve shirts, and a hoodie. Plus a back pack with a ten pound weight in it. Excellent workout.

While on the return half of this walk/run/hike, I was passing by an individual's house, whose backyard is against the wash. A gentleman was in the backyard with his kids, teaching them some soccer drills. One of the kids managed to kick the soccerball into the wash. Not even thinking about anything, I told the guy I would go ahead and get the ball for them, which I did. Twice. The first time, I grabbed the ball and chucked it like I did back when I was a kid playing goalkeeper in my soccer days. Well, I did not quite get the ball into the backyard. It hit the fence and rolled back into the wash. So, I grabbed the ball again, and just walked it up to the fence and then tossed it over. The guy, who I believe lived in the house, said, "Thank you, that was very nice of you". After the guy said that what I did was nice, I realized I could now check off Item #5.

Not all that far from finishing my workout, I came across a group of kids that were impeding my path, though not intentionally. I do not even think they knew I was behind them. These kids were trying to push their bikes up a portion of the washway that I was trying to run through. One of the kids, however, did not know what he was doing. This little boy was straddling a girls mountain bike that he was shorter than and could not even push on level ground, let alone up this hill. I told the kid to hop off, and I took the bike to the top for him. All the other kids thanked me and said that what I did was nice. The only one that did not say this was the kid I helped. The little dude was completely out of breath from walking to the top of the hill. I think helping a couple of kids out counts as doing something nice.