Day 7

At first this one felt like a cheat, but the more I thought about it the more I realized it wasn't.

Today (with a whole bunch of help from my wife) I took about 30 Cub Scouts and families on a 17 mile bike ride down the Virginia Creeper Trail for a two-night camping trip in the mountains. I think everybody had a great time. The leaves were gorgeous, the weather was fantastic, the kids all did great, and nobody got hurt or lost, so we'll call that a big success.

The reason I say it felt like a cheat is because when you sign up for any kind of leadership role in Cub Scouts or other activities, leading events like this comes with the territory. It's part of the "job."

But as I thought about it, I started thinking about all the parents out there who do this kind of thing all the time. Scout leaders and PTA leaders and youth coaches and team managers and band parents and chaperones and proctors and on and on. All these people are doing things for us and for our kids day after day, without pay. And most of them are happy to do it or they wouldn't be there.

Whether it's buying food, hauling gear, coordinating paperwork and payments, organizing receipts or schedules, planning, making phone calls, sending emails, figuring out deadlines, taking time off work, rearranging their own lives for the benefit of the group, fronting cash or even paying for things outright.... There's a lot to appreciate.

Because of the nature of my life and my family circumstances, my own commitments are sporadic. I can take the lead on a meeting or an event from time to time, but I can't do it on a day-to-day basis. As a result, I know first hand what it takes to pull off a successful activity or outing, but fact that I don't do it all the time makes me appreciate the "regulars" who do this stuff day after day, week after week, month after month.

Take a minute to think about those folks. Maybe just drop them a quick thank you email, or say something next time you see them.

Day 6

Today I helped someone trying to escape an abusive relationship. And that's all I'll say about that here.

Day 5

Today there was a lot of extras traffic on my commute. Between an accident and some early football traffic, things were pretty backed up even before rush hour. I made a point of letting people in at every opportunity, and leaving big gaps ahead of me so people could merge more easily. Easy, free, and effective at making people's day a tiny bit better with very little downside for me. Day 5: done.

Day 4

Today we dropped off a bunch of pull-ups to a family in our neighborhood. They also have an older child with special needs who is not completely toilet trained, and we had a surplus of pull-ups, so it was kind of a no-brainer to share.

They've also been dealing with some other unrelated difficulties, so we offered help, support, and a shoulder to cry on. We humans need to stick together and have each other's backs whenever possible.

Day 3

I didn't really intend for this to be all about donations. But most of my days are not planned ahead of time, and even when I do, it doesn't always go according to plan. So we're starting off with a string of donations.

Today I donated to a friend's kids' "Fun Run" school fundraiser. Tomorrow I will give the bank account a rest and find some other way to make it a good day.

Day 2

Today was not a good day. Today I woke to find that at least 58 people were murdered and over 500 more injured by a gunman in Las Vegas.

This project is about creating good days. I don't think there's anything I can do to make today a good day. I had other plans for today, but for me, today needs a little something extra. Today needs to be this.

I made two donations today. The first was to the Las Vegas Victims' Fund. According to the GoFundMe page set up by the Clark County NV Commission Chair, "Funds will be used to provide relief and financial support to the victims and families of the horrific Las Vegas mass shooting​."

The second was to Volunteers in Medicine of Southern Nevada, which provides mental and physical health care to people who don't have access to it otherwise.

Day 1

Today I made a donation to the non-profit ConPRmetidos Real-Time Recovery Fund. Reports are coming in today that 55% of water utility customers across Puerto Rico do not have service. That's up from 44% a few days ago. That means about 1.8 million people don't have running water.

Puerto Rico is a beautiful place. The aftermath of Hurricane Maria really brings home how much we depend on so many things we've come to take for granted, like tap water, electricity, a roof over our heads, driveable roads, and even internet and cell phone service. One natural disaster is all it takes to take those away.

 Puerto Rico Real-Time Recovery Fund