“There is no wrong way to perform an act of kindness.” These are words that Catherine Ryan Hyde uses in her book “Pay It Forward.” I admired the thoughtfulness of the young boy in the book, who wanted to better the world simply by performing random acts of kindness. The hope was that the person receiving the kindness would do something thoughtful for another, and this would spark a revolution of kind acts. I wondered how it would work in our town.

This was one idea I had gotten into my head that I just could not let go of. I had to try it.

I set out to put the Pay it Forward plan to test in my hometown of Yankton. A self-assignment, if you will. I’d never been this excited about an assignment since High School, when one of my favorite English teachers told the class we’d get a free supper if we solved a very lengthy who-did-it puzzle. After many tries at the answer, my team finally solved it and won that challenge. Supper was delicious.

My Pay It Forward challenge began at 9:00 on a Friday morning. I had the day off of work and was going to focus the entire morning on doing random acts of kindness throughout my hometown. Though a cool and breezy 40 degree start to the day; the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. The forecast was a sunny, 55 degree day. Perfect, I thought. Not quite as perfect as the 65 degree day we had the day before, but darn close. I was armed with kindness: goodie bags each filled with a notepad, a pen and puffy peppermint candies, a cooler packed full of cold Sprite and Coke, bags of mini candy bars and several mint-green colored carnations in honor of the upcoming St. Patrick’s Day holiday. With every kindness act given, I’d give a note on a little slip of white paper, to explain what my purpose was: “You’ve been selected today to receive an act of kindness. Please PAY IT FORWARD in your own way.” I had no idea if this would entice the recipient to pay the act of kindness forward but it was sure going to be fun to try.

I started off the morning at the local grocery store. Many town folk had begun their day with coffee and chit-chat in the dining area. Most of the tables were full; at some tables couples were having breakfast, at others groups of all men or all women were having their morning coffee talks. I headed over to a table of four cheery women with my green carnations and offered them a couple. I explained that I am a freelance writer, doing a story on acts of kindness and paying it forward. I told of how I was just out for the day doing acts of kindness for folks in my town. They smiled and kindly accepted the flowers, along with my note of purpose. The ladies joked that they would arm wrestle to see who got to take the flowers home. I would have loved to stick around for that as it would surely have been a sight to see in a crowded dining area at 9:30 on a Friday morning.

I headed over to another table of eight lovely ladies. I knew one of them and as I chatted with her for a bit, she asked what I was doing. I explained my project, offering a few of them flowers, which were again graciously accepted with many smiles and thank you’s. I walked the store aisles after that, handing out flowers to ladies getting their groceries.

Some I knew, some were complete strangers. All gave warm smiles upon receiving the flowers. I received a few hugs from those I knew, and a “bless your heart” from a stranger. I wondered when the last time was that some of those ladies received a flower. After a nice lady commented that I just made her day, I realized that I just met one of my goals: to make someone’s day.

I left the store, my heart already feeling bigger and warmer and only an hour and a half into my project. I drove the streets of town, hoping to find my next Pay It Forward candidates milling around.

This must be what it feels like to be a spy, lethargically browsing the streets, peering out of the car window looking for someone. I spotted a city truck at a four-way stop and pulled over just past their work area. Fortunately this encounter wouldn’t feel too awkward as I knew one of the guys. He looked at me questioningly, I’m sure wondering what I was doing there. I asked if he and his co-worker would like a pop and candy bar, and explained my purpose. He smiled, I’m sure thinking I had gone off my rocker, and accepted my offer. I put the goodies and notes in their truck and headed off with a wave.

My next stop was the police station. As I walked in with flowers, a bag of candy bars and a smile, the dispatcher seemed a little leery. I’m sure they’ve seen it all before. She was probably wondering what kind of wackadoodle they had to deal with. I tried to be as non-threatening as I could, leaving my hair down, my blonde curls resting on the shoulders of my coral colored fleece jacket. Dark blue jeans and tennis shoes completed my approachable, casual look. It must have worked, as I appeared to win her over. I explained my project and asked if I could leave flowers for the ladies and candy for the gentlemen. She accepted my offer and opened the locked door for me to hand her the items.

She and the other lady in the office smiled as they both told me to have a great day. “I already am,” I thought. I wondered how rewarding life would feel if I had the time and money to spend doing things like this every single day.

Onward, I headed, to downtown Yankton. A mature, beautiful lady was climbing into the truck where her husband waited for her.

I parked next to them, and called out to her asking if I could give her a flower. Though I caught her off guard, she smiled as I explained, and she replied with a “well, bless your heart.” Little did she know how blessed I really did feel that Friday.

She and her husband smiled and waved as they headed on their way. I drove the streets some more, handing out a few more bags, pop, candy and flowers.

Though at first hesitant, most people smiled and accepted my offer, seemingly surprised by a simple act of kindness. I had one gentleman kindly turn down my offer for a can of pop and another kind man tried to pay me. I refused to take his money, explaining that my goal was to make people more aware of the “Pay it Forward” aspect. I asked him simply to pay it forward with a kind act instead.

It’s a funny feeling walking up to strangers and asking them if you can give them something for free. A little awkward at first, it becomes easier with practice, especially when you get past the thought of “what are they going to think of me,” or “I hope I don’t get arrested for being a nuisance.” Many seemed a little apprehensive of me when I approached them, like I was trying to sell them something. If I put myself in their shoes, I don’t blame them as I probably would have been a little suspicious of myself too. I suppose I really was selling something - kindness. For the most part, it was a pretty stress-free sale. I’m sure it was a much easier sale than peddling knives or vacuum cleaners.

I found that pay it forward day so rewarding that I continued my mission as often as I could during the next several weeks. I made treats for bake sale fundraisers, donated clothes to someone who needed them, saved Box Tops to give to local schools, helped make and donate meals to someone too ill to cook and kept my eye out for the little things I could do to make someone’s day.

Though it’s still hard for me to understand why things today cannot be done without some sort of expectation to pay for it rather than on good will, I will continue to pay it forward as often as I can. Paying it forward to someone else pays my heart back more than I would have ever imagined.