This post is inspired by Shot@Life, an initiative of the United Nations Foundation dedicated to using vaccines as a cost-effective way to save children’s lives in developing countries. (Image courtesy United Nations Foundation.)
Hi team, I need help. Here’s why:
For every comment on this post, Shot@Life gets $20 to vaccinate a kid.
Twenty. Dollars.
Twenty dollars is what it costs to give one child four vaccines that help protect them against measles, pneumonia, diarrhea, and polio. During Shot@Life’s Blogust: Blog Relay for Good, 31 bloggers have been helping to secure $200,000 in sponsor donations. We need 10,000 comments, and we’re about 1,000 away from that goal right now.
Over the years, your comments have shaped my life. Whether you were celebrating Hank’s birth with me, or cheering my Life List, or comforting me when things took a difficult turn. I know you guys care about helping other people because of how much help you’ve already heaped on me.
So let’s do this.
Can you comment twice? Yes. Yes you can. And if you have a means of spreading the word, please Tweet, Pin, link on Facebook, or post a quick link on your own site.
Let us know the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you in comments. And thanks to you for being so nice to other people. I like you.
Yesterday Fadra Nally of All Things Fadra wrote about the comments you never see. Tomorrow, I’m passing the baton to my friend Stacey Ferguson of Justice Fergie — so you can help us reach our final goal by commenting on her site as well. We have until August 31. Thanks again.
Mighty Girl 
My awesome husband is kicking ass at nice during this pregnancy.
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I don’t even know if I can think of the nicest thing. I have these people in my life that without them I wouldn’t have made it this far after Chris’s death. Those people just being there is the nicest thing ever.
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Like so many others, it’s hard to pick just one nice thing when I have so much to be grateful for! I have wonderful parents who are always willing to help by talking through things with me. They offer a great balance of practical advice, tough love, and warm support depending on the situation. (Yay vaccines!)
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My mom took amazing care of me while I was on bed rest after surgery. She is superwoman.
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How can I pick just one nice thing, when I’m surrounded by so many? I’m so very grateful for them all.
Thank you for taking the time to post this, and bring to light, this amazing opportunity to help 🙂
You really are a good egg!
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One of the first that springs to mind is my then-boyfriend (now husband) getting my fellow RA to let him into my dorm room while I was gone at the funeral of my grandmother, who died unexpectedly before Christmas. When I got back to school after break, my room was covered in pink post-its that said “I Love You.” It was the sweetest ever.
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Recently, I went through a scary health crisis. I had so many people send me cards, notes, gift baskets. I had a friend I had not heard from in years send me a very heartfelt letter, just letting me know she was thinking about me and wishing me the best. So, I think the nicest thing ever is to be reminded how much you are cared for in your darkest moments.
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There are too many wonderful people in my life to thank, so I will go with thanking this mission! Cheers1
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In the throes of a marriage that was ending, my friend (and her husband and her daughter and her son and his girlfriend) drove across country with my son and I. Partially to make sure we got here ok and partially to delay having to say goodbye 🙂 An enormous gesture I will never forget!
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I feel like I’ve been the blessed receiver of many random acts of kindness. But, most recently, I was in a 7/11 in Japan, looking for medicine to cure a wicked headache. I asked the sales clerk in broken Japanese if they sold any. The clerk didn’t really understand me, but a customer standing on line did and translated for the clerk. When the clerk replied that they didn’t have any, the customer told me to wait a moment. He ran out of the store. When he returned a few minutes later, I realized that he had sprinted to his nearby apartment to fetch me some aspirin from his own supply. I was floored by his kindness. He even tried to translate the “take as directed” instructions into English! Imagine going to those lengths for a total stranger with a headache.
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I’ve been very lucky to have wonderful, kind people in my life. I think the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me is when, after giving birth to my second child, finally back home in Chicago, my mom came over every day for 4 months at 6 a.m. to get my older child up, dressed, fed and occupied so I could get a few hours sleep. This was no small thing after being up every 2-3 hours with the baby EVERY NIGHT. I honestly don’t know where I would be without her help. Probably in a mental institution. No kidding! I was also suffering from bad PPD and her help kept me off the ledge.
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This is SO nice!
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I’ve experienced too much kindness to choose! All the more reason to always remember, “So shines a good deed in a weary world.” -Shakespeare (and Mr Willy Wonka of course)
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The nicest thing someone has done for me was to give me a chance.
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Too hard to pick the nicest moment — but all of my friends, far and wide, secretly chipping in to give me a generous gift for my 30th birthday always makes me smile.
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My Aunt/Cousin took me to the hospital to visit my Dad every weekend for 2 months even though it was a 30 minute drive in the middle of winter in Michigan.
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a smile from a stranger…….
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I broke my arm when I was at university and my roommates tied my shoes, fixed my hair and did my nails for me for three months while it healed. That was pretty nice!
What you’re doing is pretty nice too.
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During a medical emergency in which I didn’t have time to call someone to take care of my beloved pets, a friend sprung into action, got a spare key from my neighbor, and took care of them for the two weeks I was unconscious in the hospital. I woke, terrified about what had happened to them. I was so happy they were cared for.
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my fiance agreed to try to have a baby with me, not because he wanted a child, but because he knew i wanted a child and that i would regret never having tried if we did not. three years and one amazing son later, he is still the nicest person i have ever met.
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Lots of nice things have been done for me..so to choose one is tough, my Mom doing my laudry when she comes to visit or she makes me pastry and freezes it to use later or when my girlfriends arranged for me to have 2 weeks of meals after foot surgery:-}
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My mom rocks it out for me. It’s not a moment, or a “thing” that she has done, but it’s a long list of little sacrifices and extra steps that opened the doors of the world for me, even though I came from a mostly blue-collar family, was being raised by a single mother, and was not likely to have those opportunities were it not for her.
Hooray for good comments doing good things!
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when i was in high school, i had “like the worst day ever.” (gah, i know EVERY day is like the worst day ever in high school). but this particular day was awful because nothing separately was the worst, but all the little things kept piling up and by the time 3:00 hit i was in tears.
but it all turned around when at work that night, i got not one, but TWO flower deliveries! both my sister and friends that knew i was having a bad day sent them. they didn’t even talk to each other about it. i don’t care who you are, flowers are the best.
AND a great reminder that small gestures can make a HUGE difference : )
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I’ll always remember when my friend came over and gave me a manicure while letting me word vomit on her after a tough day.
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The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me? It was actually from someone who was being paid to help me — the anesthesiologist during my son’s birth, in fact. It was an emergency c-section with a high likelihood I would need a blood transfusion. After one brief discussion with him, he could tell this terrified me — so when my husband went to be with our newborn son, the anesthesiologist took over comforting me.
He didn’t have to do that. It wasn’t his job. He could have sat back, monitored my vitals and gone about his merry way. But he saw a woman (and new mom at that!) in need — and realized there was something he could do to help. And he acted on it. It still brings a tear to my eye as I think of how much this meant to me.
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Honestly I think the nicest thing anyone has done for me has been my mom, just being herself. She is the kindest, most generous person I know… and while she isn’t this way “for me” per se, she has completely inspired me, my sisters, nephews and nieces to be more thoughtful and caring people.
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The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me, is love me without judgment! It saddens me to think that there are people who can not say the same, but I am lucky enough to have parents, siblings, and a husband, who all love me for me. Who let me be who I am. I am forever grateful and thankful for this.
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I have been very lucky to have so many people surrounding me with love and kindness but a memory who still in my mind is when I moved to this country and my husband was deploy overseas after 6 days in a new town. New home, new baby and very little English skills. I was very nervous and scare no relative around to ask for help, but 2 ladies show up my front door and offer to help me, smile, give me a hug. They didn’t speak any Spanish and I speak little English but I can feel their love and sincerity. We have been friends and sisters for 25 years…they still don’t know Spanish…but love can communicate in any language!
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The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me was be with me via text as she drove across Canada as my dad was dying. It was such a relief to look up from the difficulty right in front of me and get these “thinking about you…from Saskatchewan” texts.
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Thank you for hosting this. I have loved reading peoples wonderful comments.
One of the nicest things was when my husband absolutely supported my decision to move across the country and start my graduate program. His support and unwavering belief in me was essential. And he made our lives out there so marvelous, with good friends, a cute little house, lots of adventures. He rose to the challenge splendidly.
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My mom doing her every day every time niceties. I am such a better person because of her.
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My friends threw me a surprise 18th birthday party a month early, because otherwise I would’ve spent it alone in my dorm room watching Netflix. It was my first birthday party, and my best friend, knowing that I hated cake, made me a pile of French toast instead.
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My best friend does many, many nice things for me, but one of the nicest was back when we were high schoolers. She went through a phase where she worried I wasn’t getting enough hugs at home (my mother was suffering from inadequately treated schizoaffective disorder, and my father was trying to deal with that and raise my brother and I), so she gave me extra hugs every day.
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The nicest things that anyone has ever done for me are the things my husband does for me every day. Little things, like preparing a lunch package and leaving it for me in the kitchen. Getting up early to clean so that I don’t have to. Stuff like that. I wish everyone had someone like him in their lives.
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People who love me have collectively done an incalculable number of nice things for me, but when I think of the nicest, I find I think of things done by people who didn’t know me at all.
Once, many years ago, during the morning rush hour, I fell in the Powell Street subway station–a bad fall; I thought I may have actually broken my back. A young man whose face I never saw (I was facing the wall and afraid to move) knelt down next to me and held my hand until the paramedics came. He didn’t abandon me to the ineffectual MUNI personnel who were first on the scene. I know staying with me made him very late to work. He is my hero.
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Would it make more sense to let these kids get exposed to these diseases instead of tainting their bodies with the evil chemicals found in vaccines?
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When I was a 7th grader the popular girls were talking to one of my teachers after class but before the period was over and they asked her who the prettiest girl in the class was and she said ME. 7th grade was a really awkward, overweight time for me so to have a respected teacher choose me over all the supposedly pretty popular girls has stuck with me ever since.
Other nice things have happened to me because of the generous things in my life, but that one was powerful.
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When my Dad died, my Mom flew to my university to tell me and bring me home. A friend of hers drove her to the airport, arranged for someone to pick my Mom up when she landed and bring her to me, and then took care of all the phone calls and arrangements while we made our way back home. It was the nicest thing anyone has ever done for us.
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That was a joke.
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The nicest thing anyone has ever done for me? Well, the nicest thing lately was a new friend who watched my two kids on Saturday so I could go to work for a few hours…she made it a little party for them and was just awesome!
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My mom’s pretty selfless. She’s taught her daughters how to be the same and without sharing between the three of us I wouldn’t be where I am today. Go mom!
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About a week after my second daughter was born a woman who was the parent of one of my husband’s students made us a wonderful home cooked meal and sent it home with him. All of the early help was gone and he was back at work, but we were both exhausted and surviving on take-out. It was an amazing meal I still think about it a year later.
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When I was a high school senior and couldn’t afford a yearbook, my friends chipped in and bought me one, and presented it to me, already signed with such sweet notes. It was lovely.
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I love reading your comments. They are always so smart and inspirational to boot.
xo
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My parents have allowed me to leave my home, my home town, and my country, travel more than 2000km, pursue university studies abroad, and eventually settle far away from them. All of this so that I can lead the life that I wanted. I hope I will find the strength to do the same for my children, if that is their wish.
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I cannot count the number of nice things my parents have done for me over the years.
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Well I’ll totally be crying by the end of this…When I was 20 weeks pregnant our unborn son was diagnosed with a birth defect that would require him to be immediately transferred to a hospital 90 miles away. He would need surgery and would spend about 8 weeks in the NICU. The month we received the diagnosis was, by far, the hardest time of my life. I cried every few hours. I could not see the light, which was of course, always there. Through the chest-beating and hormonal sobbing, I could not hear my friends and family and their words of hope and encouragement. It was a dark, dark time for me.
My wonderful, blessed family worked a vast web of prayer throughout the country. I was put on prayer lists by people I will never meet. My son was lifted up and held by the amazing spirit of these people. I will never get to hug all the people who helped to heal my son.
Because, don’t you know, 8 weeks after the original diagnosis, we were told Jack’s defect had completely disappeared. And yes, I believe that he would have healed himself on his own. But the gift I was given by my amazing family and their amazing friends is something that has reshaped my life. It is, far and away, the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me.
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How could I say no!
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Every person who has professionally taken a chance on me.
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My mom took her vacation time so that she could watch my kids while my husband and I took a trip to Mexico. And while we were gone, so organized my house and all of the kid clutter. So thankful!
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