#Kindnessrocks

A beautiful, sunny day to paint rocks. I gathered the rocks, paint, water, paintbrushes, markers, sponges, decals.....all set for a fun day. And a fun day it was!!

I had been admiring a certain spot on Milford's boardwalk for quite some time. It's a spot right next to the boardwalk between Silver Sands State Park and Walnut Beach. It is a sandy area with a faded sign that reads "Kindness Rocks Project." It is a project that started with one of the local Girl Scout Troops. It is an area to choose a rock that inspires you or to add a rock that will inspire others.

Every time I walk/jog by this spot, I always look to see the rocks. It puts a smile on my face to see what others have left. I notice others turning their heads to do the same. The rocks do not last long. Sometimes there are no rocks. Sometimes there are themes to the rocks. Themes I have noticed over the years include inspirational themes, smiley faces, flowers and even sharks during Shark Week. Sometimes there are collections of painted shells.

Arlene and I painted rocks that we hoped would bring smiles to others. I looked for examples of rocks online for ideas. I started with a base coat first. Then added a design and maybe a special word. My two favorites that I painted were my strawberry and my ladybug rocks. Arlene put much more time and creativity into her beautiful creations. This allowed me time to add our hashtag #givebackgirlsct to the back of each rock. Hopefully, leading others to our site to help spread the word on giving back.

Going to the beach to deposit our rocks was my favorite part. There hadn't been many rocks there for quite some time with this being just the beginning of Spring. We carefully arrange our rocks and stood back to admire our work. We even asked a kind lady to take our picture with the rocks. By now, we have become very attached to our rocks....

Once satisfied, we walked a bit away and watched......would anyone look? would anyone be inclined to take one home? A few people walked by without even looking. Finally, one couple stopped and really looked. The woman reached down and took one. As they walked, she held it up to show her husband and then she put it in her pocket. I wonder which one she was inspired by..........did she choose a certain color, design or sentimental quote.....Several hours later I went back to walk the boardwalk. Of course I was eager to see which rocks were gone. I was surprised to see they were all gone. With the exception of the orange "be happy" rock. It looked so cute there shouting out it's important message :) I look forward to adding more rocks in the future.