Ten Hugs and One Million Acts of Good

I’m sure most parents would agree that Cheerios are a staple of the toddler diet. With their crunchy texture, mild taste, and shape of tiny doughnuts, Cheerios are a great addition to any meal and the perfect on the go snack. Even baby Clementine likes to indulge in these happy little o’s. We eat Cheerios every day.

Imagine my surprise when one morning I spotted Ellen DeGeneres on our Cheerios box at breakfast. Mommy took a look and after a moment she explained that Cheerios and Ellen are partnering to achieve one million acts of good. How fun!

The box includes two postcards. One is to be sent to someone special to thank them for being amazing. The other postcard is for Ellen explaining your act of good. That’s something we wanted to be involved in.

Mommy and I had to do some serious thinking to figure out what Clementine and I could do. Between the two of us we have only 4 years of worldly experience under our belts and our abilities to do good in the world are somewhat limited. But we can still take part in this challenge if we give it some thought.

There is one thing that we’re both pretty good at. We’re awesome huggers! And everyone loves hugs don’t they? So, for our act of good we’re giving hugs.

Hugs aren’t just for fun. Studies show that hugs are good for you too. Getting hugs reduces stress, protects your health, makes you happier, and can make you feel better about yourself. That’s why we’re on a mission to share the benefits of hugging with 10 different people.

Our Hugging Journey

Where should we start our hugging mission? Some answers are right in front of you. Time for some sisterly love! Our first hug was one we shared together. That’s Peachy and Clementine on the list. Two down and only eight more to go!

Another two hugs are pretty obvious as well. Mommy and Daddy could use some hugs and both Clementine and I were eager to oblige. That’s four hugs but only two people. Nevertheless, that’s another two hugs crossed off the list.

The next hug took a bit of thinking and some searching. Our cat isn’t really a person but we love him and he could use the benefits of hugging too. Clementine is a bit too rough with her hugs for Kitty so I had to perform this hug myself. Kitty didn’t appear completely into it but I’m pretty sure he loved it deep down inside. And just like that we’re halfway through our 10 hugs.

Our mission of hugs had to take a little break as there was nobody else to hug readily available. But in a matter of days our grandparents came to visit. We call them Babcia and Dziadzia and they come to see us every week. Of course both Clementine and I were happy to give lots of hugs to each of them and we crossed hug number 6 and 7 off our list.

Eager to continue our hugging journey, I convinced Mommy to take us next door to visit our neighbours. They are a lovely family and are always kind to us. They give us little treats and gifts for special occasions. They’re great but they would be better if they had kids closer to our age. Sadly their boys are all grown.

When we arrived at their doorstep to dispense some hugs, only the mom of the house was home. We should have known since it was the middle of the day during the week. Luckily she was more than willing to receive hugs from me and a barrage of slightly drooly hugs from Clementine. That left us with only 2 more hugs to go.

The next hug happened rather spontaneously during one of our regular trips to Walmart. I love going shopping with Mommy and Walmart is one of my favourite stores. There are tonnes of kids there and I enjoyed greeting them and stopping for little chats. Clementine is somewhat indifferent but it’s definitely an improvement over the fussiness she would have displayed five months ago.

All the hugging of that week was fresh on my mind when I spotted a little girl about my size in the aisle that we had just turned into. I ran over as I usually do and after a quick introduction and brief talk I leaned in for a hug. She seemed somewhat puzzled but returned the hug and before I knew it it was time to move on to the next isle. Just like that we ended up with only one hug to go!

The last hug for our collection was probably one of my favourites because it gave me the excuse to visit my best friend. He’s a boy only a few months younger than me. Our mommies have known each other for a long time so we’ve known one another for our entire lives.

It’s unfortunate that we live far apart and don’t get to see each other every day, but we do try to make time to get together at least once per month. A hug is a great excuse for a visit and I assure you that there was plenty of hugging between us. Clementine got in on the action too with a few hugs of her own.

Just like that our list was complete!

1. Peachy
2. Clementine
3. Mommy
4. Daddy
5. Kitty
6. Babcia
7. Dziadzia
8. Next Door Neighbour
9. Girl At Walmart
10. Peachy’s Best Friend

A part of me was happy to know that we accomplished what we set out to do but another part was sad because there were no more hugs to give out. As always Mommy came to the rescue and chased the blues away by reminding me that we don’t need a list to give hugs whenever the mood strikes us.

We also still had some more work to do. There were cards to send! First we filled out our card to Ellen. With Mommy operating the pen and Clementine and I joining in around the kitchen table, we told Ellen about our mission to give out 10 hugs.

Recognizing Goodness

The next card was for someone who deserves a shout out for spreading goodness in our lives. We decided we would send this card to Babcia and Dziadzia. We are blessed with wonderful grandparents.

Every week they drive for an hour to see us. We play almost the entire time and it’s so much fun! They also help Mommy by bringing some ready made food which means Mommy has more time to spend with us and we still get tasty and nutritious dinners.

Babcia and Dziadzia are the most deserving people of being acknowledged for their good deeds. I’m sure they would love to get a card in the mail letting them know how appreciated they are. And maybe some extra hugs just because.

That’s the story of how we participated in Ellen’s One Million Acts Of Good. Now it’s time for a little break and a snack of strawberries and Cheerios. Yummy!

Do some good of your own and share this post on Pinterest! Help us spread the word about our journey to 10 hugs. We would love you for it.